--- title: "Facebook Workers “Walk Out” Over Inaction on Trump Posts" description: "Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg decided to do nothing about president Donald Trump's problematic posts about protesters. Employees are fuming." date: "2020-06-01" modified: "2020-06-01" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/facebook-workers-inaction-trump-posts" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "covid19" - "donald trump" - "facebook" - "twitter" --- # Facebook Workers “Walk Out” Over Inaction on Trump Posts ![Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg decided to do nothing about president Donald Trump's problematic posts about protesters. Employees are fuming.]() *\Image: Anthony Quintano/Victor Tangermann\* President Donald Trump has [started a war]() with Twitter over the social network's decision to add labels to several of his tweets, noting that one of them "violated the Twitter Rules about glorifying violence" and prominently fact-checking another. But Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg decided that his rival social network will do nothing about Trump's problematic posts — a decision that has many Facebook employees fuming. Now, [dozens of employees]() decided to take the day off as part of a "virtual walkout" to support protests nationwide. "Personally, I have a visceral negative reaction to this kind of divisive and inflammatory rhetoric," Mr. Zuckerberg wrote in a [Friday post](). “But I’m responsible for reacting not just in my personal capacity but as the leader of an institution committed to free expression." After protests over the police killing of a black man named George Floyd in Minnesota, Trump wrote on Facebook "when the looting starts, the shooting starts," a phrase [with a racially-charged history](). Trump also referred to protesters as "THUGS" and publicly called for governors to ["dominate" activists](). Despite those troubling words, Zuckerberg argued that it wasn't Facebook's place to remove the president's posts. "The President later posted again, saying that the original post was warning about the possibility that looting could lead to violence," Zuckerberg added in his Friday post. "We decided that this post, which explicitly discouraged violence, also does not violate our policies and is important for people to see." Facebook employees were appalled. "Facebook’s inaction in taking down Trump’s post inciting violence makes me ashamed to work here," Lauren Tan, Facebook engineer, wrote in a [Friday tweet](). "Silence is complicity." "I have to say I am finding the contortions we have to go through incredibly hard to stomach," another employee wrote, according to internal messages [obtained by *The Verge*](). "Makes me sad and frankly ashamed," another added. Senior staff also dissented. "I'm not alone inside of FB," Jason Stirman, a design manager at Facebook, [tweeted]() on Saturday. "There isn't a neutral position on racism." Senior employees are now threatening to resign if Zuckerberg does not change his mind, [*The New York Times* reported](). Just ten days ago, Facebook announced it will allow workers to [work at home permanently]() in light of the coronavirus outbreak. Zuckerberg did announce a $10 million donation "to groups working on racial justice," according to a [Monday post](). He has also moved his weekly meeting with employees from Thursday to Tuesday, according to the *Times*. The news comes after a Facebook manager [said]() in November that the company had "a black people problem" where work culture doesn't allow the efforts of black people to be recognized or even acknowledged, as detailed in a [memo published to Medium](). As of 2019, Facebook's work force is only 3.8 percent black, the *Times* reports. **READ MORE:** [Facebook Employees Stage Virtual Walkout to Protest Trump Posts]() \[*The New York Times*\] **More on Zuckerberg:** *FACEBOOK WILL PAY MODS $52M FOR TRAUMA FROM GORE, SEXUAL ABUSE* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()