ZUCKERBERG SPEAKS WITH TRUMP

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg spoke recently with President Trump to express concern over the president’s response to protests against the death of George Floyd, Axios reported Sunday.

Zuckerberg reportedly “expressed concerns about the tone and the rhetoric,” used by the president on a phone call Friday, the news outlet reported, while one source familiar with the call told Axios that Zuckerberg argued that Trump was putting the company in a difficult position with the tone of his remarks.

At issue was a tweet and corresponding Facebook post sent earlier in the day by Trump quoting a former Miami police chief while referring to violent protests in Minneapolis and other cities: “When the looting starts, the shooting starts.”

“Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!” Trump tweeted.

Zuckerberg’s conversation with Trump comes as his platform as well as Twitter have been under fire from activists and some Democratic lawmakers for allowing some of the president’s messages that have been found to contain false or misleading information to remain up. The companies have argued that they allow public debate on controversial issues, even if statements are found to contain false information.