Facebook Employee: Executives Are 'Drunk on Power' from Censoring Right-Wing Content
Data scientist reveals censorship of pro Kyle Rittenhouse posts
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A Facebook data scientist has accused executives of being "drunk on power" while censoring conservative content.
The employee made the allegations in internal messages supporting Kenosha gunman Kyle Rittenhouse.
Last year, Rittenhouse shot and killed two Black Lives Matter rioters in self-defense during violent unrest following the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
Rittenhouse insisted he was on the streets to prevent BLM rioting.
Many pro-Rittenhouse posts were removed by Facebook because they said they were in violation of the site's rules.
Any praise of support for Rittenhouse was removed.
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The decision was agreed upon by most employees during an internal discussion.
But one employee argued that Facebook was approaching a drastic role in censoring people's beliefs.
The staffer said executives ignored rioting and violence for months then only acted on an issue they didn't like.
"Employees are drunk on the absolute power of being in control of civics in America, without ever having to visit a voting booth (if voting is even an option)."
The employee also questioned whether Facebook was taking the right approach to moderate posts in support of Rittenhouse.
"Can we really consistently and objectively differentiate between support (not allowed) and discussion of whether [Rittenhouse] is being treated justly (allowed)?" the data scientist wrote.
"Try reading the posts mentioning him and see if you can separate violating from non-violating content."
"I know that our company is full of dedicated smart people who want to do the right thing."
"However, I don't think the current system we are working in enables us to succeed, even as we have the money, talent, and motivation that should lead us on the right path."
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Rittenhouse has been charged with murder, and his trial begins next week.
A spokeswoman said Facebook has an "industry-leading policy" to address what it called "militarized social movements."
The internal memo is part of a huge swathe of information leaked by a whistleblower, Frances Haugen.
The news comes amid reports that new financial filings have revealed Facebook is currently under government investigation.
According to the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Facebook is being investigated over a series of recent scandals and complaints.
