Facebook employees are holding a virtual walkout against the company's handling of Trump's posts (FB)
- Dozens of Facebook employees are holding a virtual walkout on Monday to protest the company's decision not to take down one of President Donald Trump's messages that Twitter said was "glorifying violence."
- In response to the protests in Minneapolis that have since spread across the US, Trump posted, "When the looting starts, the shooting starts."
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The New York Times reported that "dozens" of employees took Monday off to signal their opposition to the company's refusal to take action against the president's post that discussed shooting in response to the protests in the US.
Numerous Facebook employees used Twitter over the weekend to criticize Facebook's leadership — an unprecedented show of organized employee anger at the company.
"As allies we must stand in the way of danger, not behind," a Facebook employee wrote on Twitter on Monday. "I will be participating in today's virtual walkout in solidarity with the black community inside and outside FB. #BlackLivesMatter."
A Facebook representative did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
Last week, Trump posted on social media about the protests around the US against police brutality and included the phrase "When the looting starts, the shooting starts." Twitter said this phrase, which a Southern police chief used in the 1960s amid civil-rights protests, was "glorifying violence" and affixed a warning label to his tweet.
But Facebook disagreed. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that while he had a "visceral negative reaction" to the post, it didn't break Facebook's rules.
It's this decision that has prompted an outpouring of anger among Facebook employees.
"Censoring information that might help people see the complete picture *is* wrong. But giving a platform to incite violence and spread disinformation is unacceptable, regardless who you are or if it's newsworthy," Andrew Crow, the head of design for Facebook's Portal device, wrote on Twitter on Sunday. "I disagree with Mark's position and will work to make change happen."
Here's how The Times described Monday's walkout: "The employees, who took the day off by logging into Facebook's systems and requesting time off to support protesters across the country, also added an automated message to their emails saying that they were out of the office in a show of protest." (Most Facebook employees are working from home because of the pandemic.)
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https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-employee-virtual-walkout-protest-trump-post-minneapolis-twitter-violence-2020-6
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