Mark Zuckerberg named ‘Misinformer of the Year’ by media watchdog
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (AP File Photo)
Mark Zuckerberg has received yet another award—though it appears he won’t like this one.
Due to Facebook’s role in spreading multiple false news during the 2016 US Presidential elections, progressive media watchdog group Media Matters for America (MMFA) bestowed the title “Misinformer of the Year” to the company’s founder and CEO.
Fake news was rampant on popular social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Google, YouTube and others throughout the campaign period, which many believed played pivotal role on the nationwide poll results.
The not-so-prestigious award is usually reserved for media personalities who often spread biased information through their respective mediums, but the group opted to include social networks this year, Mashable reports.
In a Facebook post last September, Zuckerberg addressed the platform’s role in spreading fake news and discussed how the company was solving the problem.
However, MMFA President Angelo Carusone notes that their efforts have continued to fall short.
“Much of what Facebook has done in 2017 has amounted more to a public relations effort than a deeper systemic and underlying approach,” Carusone told the news outlet.
“What the election did was really illustrate the underlying problems—enabling all this right-wing misinformation and misinformation more broadly.”
As of this writing, Zuckerberg has yet to speak out on the matter, as he is currently on a monthlong parental leave.
He joins the ranks of FOX News executive Ruport Murdoch and talk-show hosts Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck, who also won the dubious distinction. Khristian Ibarrola /ra
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