#DeleteFacebookNow trends after employee resigns in Trump row, but what about WhatsApp, Instagram?
The deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and other African-American men have sparked huge protests and people are taking to the streets across cities in the United States. Celebrities are joining in with the masses to raise their voice in support of #BlackLivesMatter and several people are bringing systemic racism to light on social media. Facebook employees, meanwhile, are said to be unhappy over Mark Zuckerberg's decision to leave a post by Donald Trump on the site where he seemingly threatened those protesting against George Floyd's death with violence, according to our earlier report.
Close on the heels of this development comes news that a Facebook employee has resigned from his job and posted a long letter justifying his action while spilling the beans on how Trump is "permitted to break the rules" on the platform. On June 2, Timothy J Aveni penned down to his friends and followers on the social media networking site: "I'm resigning from my job at Facebook," he said.
"For years, President Trump has enjoyed an exception to Facebook's Community Standards; over and over he posts abhorrent, targeted messages that would get any other Facebook user suspended from the platform. He's permitted to break the rules since his political speech is 'newsworthy'," he wrote, adding, "When the looting starts, the shooting starts."
Pointing out how Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg continuously told lies to the employees, he added, "Mark always told us that he would draw the line at speech that calls for violence. He showed us on Friday that this was a lie. Facebook will keep moving the goalposts every time Trump escalates, finding excuse after excuse not to act on increasingly dangerous rhetoric."
"Since Friday, I’ve spent a lot of time trying to understand and process the decision not to remove the racist, violent post-Trump made on Thursday night, but Facebook, complicit in the propagation of weaponized hatred, is on the wrong side of history."
"I cannot keep excusing Facebook's behavior. Facebook is providing a platform that enables politicians to radicalize individuals and glorify violence, and we are watching the United States succumb to the same kind of social media-fueled division that has gotten people killed in the Philippines, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. I'm scared for my country and I'm done trying to justify this," he said, adding, "My last day will be June 12. If you have contacts in the San Francisco Bay Area looking to recruit a software engineer, please DM me. #BlackLivesMatter."
His post soon went viral with over 4,000 likes and more than 700 comments. His voice reached to people on Twitter and they started spreading the word with the hashtag #DeleteFacebookNow. "#DeleteFacebookNow Even if it is my main way of contact with some friends and family, the hell site is trash and ripe with fake alt-right information," one tweet read.
Another said, "I'm glad #DeleteFacebookNow is trending so I don’t have to worry about anyone seeing the ugly ass pictures of me my family post." A user posted, "#DeleteFacebookNow is trending, but did you all forget that Facebook also owns WhatsApp and Instagram?" — joining a string of people who couldn't stop wondering whether WhatsApp and Instagram have to be deleted as well. Another said, "You can #DeleteFacebookNow all you want but don't come to Twitter and start posting your kid's birthday, blurry photos, every travel photos you've ever taken, and pictures of events you didn't invite me to."
Moreover, another tweet reported how more employees have resigned from the company. "Already this morning, some FB engineers have publicly quit. Many more are considering it. Zuckerberg is about to address FB, but there isn't much hope among employees that he will reverse course and take action against Trump's post. "He isn't built that way," one employee said.
In another tweet, it was reported: "Civil rights leaders went into a call with Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg tonight with low expectations. They were not disappointed. Mark didn't comprehend/accept the history of voter suppression and that Trump's tweets could stoke violence against demonstrators. More to come."
Several people outraged against the platform. One said, "Facebook is the worst social media platform to have. Filled with closed-minded people and inaccurate news/fake posts #DeleteFacebookNow," and another wrote, "Me: Confused as to why people are still using Facebook after the last scandal #DeleteFacebookNow." Many already slashed it off from their list of apps. "I deleted my Facebook account today. It felt good. #DeleteFacebook #DeleteFacebookNow," one posted. With the increasing protest against racism and how Facebook has pushed for it in the past, will Mark Zuckerberg take action soon? Only time will tell.