As Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg continues to try to repair the tech giant’s reputation, he has agreed to a meeting with civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton to address “urgent” civil rights concerns. Other civil rights leaders will be on hand to discuss their concerns about voter suppression concerns on the social platform.
Sharpton, president of National Action Network (NAN), released the following statement:
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“Last week, I sent a letter to Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, requesting a face-to-face meeting with me and other national civil rights leaders to discuss Facebook’s policy to decline to fact-check the accuracy of politicians’ content on Facebook. I have deep concerns that this policy is a misinformation vehicle that could aid voter suppression and voter misinformation efforts, and it should be stopped immediately.
“I received a letter back from Mr. Zuckerberg agreeing my request and I will meet with him early next week in California to press our concerns. I expect to be joined in the meeting by Marc Morial of the National Urban League, Derrick Johnson of the NAACP, Sherrilyn Ifill of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Vanita Gupta of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and Kristen Clarke of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, among others.
“The fact that Twitter and even some Facebook employees have taken strong stands on this issue only furthers the need for Mr. Zuckerberg to reconsider his position. In an era of voter suppression, we must press with all we have to protect our civil rights and voting rights. This is not an issue of free speech; this is an issue of voter misinformation and voter suppression.”
