WASHINGTON: Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg meets Wednesday with leading US conservatives to try to head off a storm over allegations that the social network suppressed right-leaning political viewpoints.
Zuckerberg proposed the meeting after technology news outlet Gizmodo last week reported allegations that Facebook was deliberately omitting articles with conservative viewpoints from a sidebar that lists popular stories.
Facebook has denied the allegations, reportedly made by a former employee. In a Facebook post last week, Zuckerberg said he had launched a “full investigation” but no evidence had been found to back up the allegations.
“We have rigorous guidelines that do not permit the prioritization of one viewpoint over another or the suppression of political perspectives,” he wrote.
Zuckerberg is to meet with about a dozen conservatives including political commentator Glenn Beck and Fox News talk show host Dana Perino, a Facebook spokeswoman told AFP in the runup to the meeting.
In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, Perino said she believed Facebook was taking the allegations seriously.
“I also think it is probably fairly solvable. So I am looking forward to going tomorrow to hear more about what they found,” she said.
