Washington Post media critic Margaret Sullivan Monday called on Facebook founder and Chairman Mark Zuckerberg to step down from his position, amid a New York Times report into the company’s attempt to combat critics.
“Facebook, whether it wants to admit it or not, is in serious crisis,” wrote Sullivan in her piece. “If Zuckerberg really wants to be “responsible for what happened here, he’ll step aside as chairman and encourage some stringent internal oversight.”
“Leaders — capable leaders — don’t do what Zuckerberg has done in the face of disaster that they themselves have presided over,” she added. “He’s shown that he’s incapable of leading the broken behemoth that is Facebook.”
Last week, The New York Times published a five-byline piece about the inner workings of Facebook, as the company faced bipartisan onslaught over their handling of fake news and foreign trolls which proliferated on the platform during the 2016 election and beyond.
The company employed an outside firm that planted fake news about critics, some of which included tying them to liberal financier George Soros, the Times reported. The piece also reported an extensive lobbying campaign to ward off the possibility of federal overnight and that Facebook had not been transparent about the extent of their issues with the American public.
A rep for Facebook had no comment regarding Sullivan’s comments, but last week, company COO Sheryl Sandberg pushed back against the Times report.
“We absolutely did not pay anyone to create fake news — that they have assured me was not happening,” Sandberg told “CBS This Morning” co-host Norah O’Donnell. “And again, we’re doing a thorough look into what happened but they have assured me that we were not paying anyone to either write or promote anything that was false. And that’s very important.”
JK Rowling's 13 Snarkiest Tweets: From Trump Burns to Fan Clapback (Photos)
J.K. Rowling is known for her fiery tweets almost as much as her "Harry Potter" books. Since the hit author opened her Twitter account in 2009, the Internet has been privy to the wit, charm, and -- most of all -- snark that made "Harry Potter" one of the best-selling series of all time. From President Donald Trump to Piers Morgan to anonymous Internet trolls, Rowling rarely holds back when something gets her attention. In honor of her 52nd birthday (on July 31), take a look at her snarkiest tweets.
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Rowling has a long-standing feud with British journalist and television presenter Piers Morgan. Here's one memorable exchange where Rowling appeared to come out on top: She tweeted a screenshot of a complimentary article about her and asked for the writer to come forward. Morgan was quick to respond, writing, "Priceless #humblebrag BS. Nobody plays the celebrity game more abusively or ruthlessly than you, Ms 'Intensely Private Billionaire.'" Of course, it turns out that Morgan was actually the person who wrote the article in the first place. Oops.
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After a Twitter troll mocked Serena Williams -- one of the best tennis players of all time -- accusing her of being built like a man, Rowling defended the sports icon like a boss, posting a picture of Williams in a red dress and writing, "'She is built like a man'. Yeah, my husband looks just like this in a dress. You're an idiot."
Years after Rowling made waves by announcing that she always thought that Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore was gay, she continues to stick up for the beloved character and other LGBTQ people. When a Twitter user commented that she couldn't see Dumbledore as gay, Rowling replied, "Maybe because gay people just look like... people?"
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After a Twitter user hurled abuse at Rowling (calling her "JK b---hface," among other insults), she offered a quick and brutal response: "The Internet doesn’t just offer opportunities for misogynistic abuse, you know. Penis enlargers can also be bought discreetly."
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Rowling started burning Donald Trump well before he became president. After Trump's final debate with Hillary Clinton during the campaign, Rowling declared, "Well, there you have it. A highly intelligent, experienced woman just debated a giant orange Twitter egg. Your move, America. #debate."
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After Trump met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Rowling posted a picture of a meeting between the two leaders (including a sad-looking Trump) and captioned the photo: "Mommy was mean to me and I don't want to hold her hand."
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Trump tweeted recently that he prided himself on his writing abilities, but Rowling caught his misspell of the word "pore" (he wrote "pour") in his message. The author tweeted: "hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha someone told him how to spell 'pore' hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah." Eventually she calmed down enough to write: "*wipes eyes, tries to control breathing* Seriously, @realDonaldTrump is the Greatest Writer on earth."
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When hordes of London protesters greeted Trump with a large, inflatable "Trump baby," Rowling was quick to tweet her support: "Our traditions decree that courtesy in the guest is matched by equal courtesy from the host."
Vice President Mike Pence has also been a subject of Rowling's scorn. After the administration announced its plan to prevent citizens from certain Muslim-majority countries from enterting the U.S., Rowling resurfaced an old, pre-election tweet from Pence where he said that calls to ban Muslims from entering the country are "offensive and unconstitutional." Rowling also added a Bible verse, writing, "'For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?' Matthew 16:26."
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After someone on Twitter cast doubt on the struggles of "despondent-looking" refugees because they looked " improbably well-fed," Rowling -- who worked for Amnesty International, long before her Potter success -- offered a quick and important reminder: "It's a little known fact that well-fed people can also die from bullets, bombs and gas chambers."
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When Brexit Secretary David Davis and UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson announced plans to exit the government, Rowling was not at all pleased, writing, "This is what happens when you have men in government who've been raised from birth to believe it's someone else's job to clean up after them. They throw tantrums when they finally make a mess no-one can fix."
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Former fans who don't like Rowling's political views are also fair game in her eyes. After one detractor tweeted Rowling to say she planned to burn her set of "Harry Potter" books, Rowling responded: "Well, the fumes from the DVDs might be toxic and I've still got your money, so by all means borrow my lighter."
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When yet another Twitter user told Rowling to stay out of politics, she had a quick (and true) retort: "In - Free - Countries - Anyone - Can - Talk - About - Politics. Try sounding out the syllables aloud, or ask a fluent reader to help."
J.K. Rowling is known for her fiery tweets almost as much as her "Harry Potter" books. Since the hit author opened her Twitter account in 2009, the Internet has been privy to the wit, charm, and -- most of all -- snark that made "Harry Potter" one of the best-selling series of all time. From President Donald Trump to Piers Morgan to anonymous Internet trolls, Rowling rarely holds back when something gets her attention. In honor of her 52nd birthday (on July 31), take a look at her snarkiest tweets.
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