Mark Zuckerberg Must Be Held Accountable for His Complicity in the Surge of Far-Right Extremism

By Robert Reich, Robert Reich's Facebook Page

28 March 21

s Mark Zuckerberg testifies in front of Congress today on the proliferation of extremism on his platform, hundreds of far-right militias are still using Facebook to organize and recruit new members. A new report finds that more than 200 militia pages and groups were active on the platform as of March 8 — despite promises from Facebook leadership to crack down on such activity after militias played a key role in leading the violence at the Capitol on January 6th. The report also found the platform directs people who “like” certain militia pages to look at other pages, essentially helping the groups recruit new members. The groups have posted content supporting the Capitol attack, cheering on the Proud Boys, and promoting broader anti-government violence.

Time and time again, Facebook leadership has failed to properly address the radicalization and extremism rampant on the platform. They’ll release a carefully worded statement purported to show their commitment to tackling the problem, and then not follow through. And as we’ve seen multiple times now, this refusal to truly crack down results in real-world violence and even death. Mark Zuckerberg must be held accountable for his complicity in the surge of far-right extremism.

That’s my view. What do you think?