Mark Zuckerberg's Message of Regret

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“For the ways my work was used to divide people rather than bring us together, I ask forgiveness and I will work to do better.”

Mark Zuckerberg’s message of regret on the Jewish Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. Facebook’s in hot water for allowing Russian-backed ads on its platform to influence the 2016 election.

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Congress Conundrum

Fresh off Yom Kippur, Mark Zuckerberg is feeling the holiday spirit of forgiveness. Facebook (-0.82%) is doubling down on its plan to increase transparency by hiring 1,000 additional ad reviewers and handing over the contents of 3,000 Russian-backed election ads to Congress.

The social media smackdown continues to rage on Capitol Hill. Last Thursday, Twitter testified to congressional investigators on the Russian use of Twitter bots to promote fake news. For instance, on Election Day, Russian bots helped hashtags like #HilaryDown and #WarAgainstDemocrats go viral. 

Facebook and other social media companies founded their platforms on ideals of freedom of expression and mass communication. But managing the agendas of nearly 2 billion monthly users is proving to be a tougher task than Zuckerberg dreamt up in his Harvard dorm room. Not to worry, with its feet held to the fire, Facebook is outlining a plan to tackle election advertising issues.

A bit of a 180° from initially denying responsibility, if you ask us.