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Senator Elizabeth Warren isn’t shy when it comes to holding big tech accountable. The Democrat from Massachusetts and 2020 presidential hopeful already released a detailed plan to break up big tech, which, as we know from leaked audio from an internal Facebook meeting, has CEO Mark Zuckerberg pretty freaked out. In his own words, it would “suck” for the company if Warren became president and the company had to sue the government.
Warren’s most recent move? Playing by Facebook’s own rules. A new Warren ad states that Zuckerberg endorsed Donald Trump. Then, it goes on to acknowledge that this is a lie.
And yes: It really does play by the company’s rules. That’s why it’s staying up on the site.
Let’s back up for some context. First, here’s what the ad looks like:
While we don’t know what Zuckerberg and Trump talked about in a private meeting in Washington, D.C. in September, we do know that shortly thereafter, Facebook released new guidelines stating that the company won’t fact-check ads paid for by a politician. This has already been an enormous issue, as Trump is paying major money to have an objectively false ad about former Vice President Joe Biden and Ukraine up on the site. That context works extra well for Warren, here, because while her trolling ad doesn’t explicitly name Biden, it clearly comes to bat for him, which shows nice solidarity among the party.
Biden lies aside, we also know that Trump historically spends a ton of money on advertising on the social media goliath.
Again: We don’t know, for certain, what the Facebook CEO and president discussed in their meeting. But, as Warren pointed out in a viral Twitter thread, we know it’s, at minimum, a suspicious chain of events.
But Facebook has stayed steady with its new rules. So Warren, apparently, decided to play by them herself.
The Warren ad opens by alleging that Zuckerberg endorsed Trump, which would be a huge deal if true, but is also a huge lie. To follow up that statement, the ad continues, "If Trump tries to lie in a TV ad, most networks will refuse to air it. But Facebook just cashes Trump's checks." This is true! Political ads on the internet aren't yet subject to the same qualifiers as ones you typically hear on the radio or see on TV. The ad also asserts that Facebook "already helped elect Donald Trump once."
Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone gave a statement to CNN, noting, "If Senator Warren wants to say things she knows to be untrue, we believe Facebook should not be in the position of censoring that speech."
But Warren isn’t looking to take advantage of this loophole in the rules for long—she wants more accountability, not less.
“Now, they're deliberately allowing a candidate to intentionally lie to the American people,” the ad reads. “This is a serious threat to our democracy. We need transparency and accountability from Facebook.” While quips and back-and-forths are entertaining, transparency and accountability are, in fact, exactly what the public needs—and deserves. Let’s hope that this ad makes its point.