A recent report surrounded Facebook in a new controversy, as sources said that the social networking site prevented articles on conservative topics from hitting the its Trending Topics section.
Employees working for Facebook, known as news curators, said that the company told them to artificially push certain articles as Trending Topics. Some employees were said to have even suppressed certain topics that did not conform with their personal beliefs.
Facebook quickly denied the allegations, stating that it has guidelines in place to remain neutral and consistent in terms of political topics. The company also denied instructing employees to push up or pull down stories on Trending Topics.
CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg has now also responded to the claims, through a post on his account on the social network.
"Facebook stands for giving everyone a voice," Zuckerberg wrote, adding that the company is committed to creating a platform where the members of its global community can share their ideas.
"We have rigorous guidelines that do not permit the prioritization of one viewpoint over another or the suppression of political perspectives," Zuckberg continued, reiterating the statement that Facebook has previously said regarding the issue. However, the CEO added that it has taken the earlier report seriously and has launched an investigation to make sure that the company's employees are following the guidelines.
The investigation has so far found no evidence of any truth behind the claims, but Zuckerberg promised that if there is anything that is found that goes against the principles of neutrality, steps will be taken to address the problem.
Zuckerberg also revealed that he will be speaking with representatives from different political ideologies to discuss the matter, partly to ensure them that Facebook will remain as open and as neutral as possible in political discussions.
As long as he is in charge of Facebook, the company's mission will always be to provide more users with a voice and bring its global community together, Zuckerberg said in conclusion to his post.
