TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Facebook fires employee who protested its inaction on Trump tweets

A Facebook Inc employee who criticized Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg's decision not to take action against inflammatory posts by US President Donald Trump this month said that the social media company had fired him.

Katie Paul (Reuters)
San Francisco, United States
Sat, June 13, 2020 Published on Jun. 13, 2020 Published on 2020-06-13T11:33:44+07:00

Change text size

Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone

Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Facebook fires employee who protested its inaction on Trump tweets A Facebook logo is displayed on a smartphone in this illustration taken on January 6, 2020. (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic)

A

Facebook Inc employee who criticized Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg's decision not to take action against inflammatory posts by US President Donald Trump this month said on Friday that the social media company had fired him.

Brandon Dail, whose social media profiles describe him as a user interface engineer in Seattle, wrote on Twitter that he was dismissed for publicly challenging a colleague's silence on the controversy that prompted a rare staff protest at Facebook.

Dozens of employees, including Dail, abandoned their desks and tweeted objections to Zuckerberg's handling of Trump's posts. Trump's posts included the racially charged phrase "when the looting starts, the shooting starts" in reference to protests against racism and police brutality held after the May 25 killing of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis.

Twitter affixed a warning label to the same post, saying it glorified violence. Facebook opted to leave the post untouched.

Read also: Facebook in turmoil over refusal to police Trump's posts

Zuckerberg stood by his decision at a tense all-hands meeting with employees that week. During the meeting, Dail tweeted that it was "crystal clear today that leadership refuses to stand with us".

Dail again voiced objections this week after both Facebook and Twitter declined to take action against a Trump post that contained an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory about Martin Gugino, a 75-year-old protester who was critically injured by police in Buffalo, New York.

"Trump's attack on Martin Gugino is despicable and a clear violation Facebook's anti-harassment rules. It's again extremely disappointing that we (and Twitter) haven't removed it," he said.

Facebook and Dail did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.

Share options

Quickly share this news with your network—keep everyone informed with just a single click!

Change text size options

Customize your reading experience by adjusting the text size to small, medium, or large—find what’s most comfortable for you.

Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone

Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!

Continue in the app

Get the best experience—faster access, exclusive features, and a seamless way to stay updated.