Fake news did not pave Trump’s path to victory, says Zuckerberg
San Francisco — Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday rejected the idea that bogus stories shared at the social network paved a path of victory for President-elect Donald Trump. "The idea that fake news on Facebook, which is a very small amount of the content, influenced the election in any way I think is a pretty crazy idea," Zuckerberg said during an on-stage chat at a Technonomy technology trends conference in California. The Facebook co-founder rhetorically asked why people would think there would be hoax stories about one candidate but not the other. He also dismissed worries about Facebook users existing in "bubbles" where they only see news or perspectives echoing their viewpoints. "Voters make decisions based on their lived experience," Zuckerberg said. "You don’t generally go wrong when you trust that people understand what they care about and what’s important to them and you build systems that reflect that." He added that research gathered at Facebook suggested news-f...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.