Zuckerberg defends Facebook’s hands-off response to Trump’s controversial post, report says – CNET [CNET]

Facebook CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly standing by the company’s decision to not take action against a post by President Donald Trump that employees say could incite violence.

The New York Times, which listened to audio of an internal meeting, reported Tuesday that Zuckerberg told employees he had made a “tough decision” but that it “was pretty thorough.” His remarks come a day after hundreds of Facebook employees staged a virtual walkout to protest the company’s decision, which contrasted with how Twitter handled the same content.

In social media posts shared on both Twitter and Facebook, Trump said “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.” The president made the remarks in response to news about protests that erupted following the death of George Floyd, a black man in Minnesota who died after a white police officer pinned him down by placing a knee on Floyd’s neck. The incident was captured in a video that shows Floyd repeatedly saying he can’t breathe. 

Twitter screened out the president’s tweet with a notice that says the post violates its rules against glorifying violence. But because the president’s words are of public interest, Twitter said, users can click a View button in the notice to go ahead and read the tweet. Facebook left up Trump’s post untouched after the company determined the president’s remarks didn’t violate its rules against creating “imminent risk of specific harms or dangers.” Facebook allows for discussion around state use of force, and Zuckerberg said the company left up Trump’s post because it referenced the National Guard, so the social network “read it as a warning about state action.”

Conservatives have accused Facebook and other sites of censoring their speech, but the companies have repeatedly denied these allegations. Trump signed an executive order Thursday in an attempt to curtail federal legal protections that social networks get in regard to posts created by their users.

This story is developing…