Jump to content

Zuckerberg's advocacy ads under fire


WestVirginiaRebel

Recommended Posts

WestVirginiaRebel

la-fi-facebook-zuckerberg-20130502,0,5421214.storyLos Angeles Times:

SAN FRANCISCO — Mark Zuckerberg is the public face of one of the world's most prominent companies.

But now it's his actions as a private citizen that are making him — and Facebook Inc. — a target of environmentalists and progressive activists, highlighting the pitfalls of political involvement at a level rarely attempted in Silicon Valley.

The 28-year-old billionaire co-founder and chief executive of Facebook has funded a political advocacy group called Fwd.us that has come under fire for spending millions on television ads that support expansion of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline and oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Fwd.us is trying to give political cover to conservatives such as Democratic Sen. Mark Begich in Alaska and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham in South Carolina to support immigration reform. The ads underscore the conservative credentials of the lawmakers who may be vulnerable in 2014. But the controversial strategy is not sitting well with the Sierra Club and other environmental groups.

The TV ads don't suggest that Zuckerberg — or Facebook — supports the causes embraced by these lawmakers. But that a leader of the so-called new economy would tout these lawmakers in a TV ad has drawn a heated response from environmentalists.

On Wednesday a small group staged a noisy protest on Facebook's Menlo Park, Calif., campus, demanding that Zuckerberg pull the ads. In front of the company's iconic thumbs-up or "like" sign, protesters in white hazmat suits chanted: "Keystone, take a hike. Facebook dislike."

"Mark Zuckerberg can't have it both ways. He can't be for Keystone XL and for clean energy at the same time," said Becky Bond, political director of Credo Mobile, a carrier that supports progressive causes. "Zuckerberg and Facebook need to choose. Do they stand for a world in which technology and openness make the world a better place, or will they bank their billions and let cynical lobbyists perpetuate business as usual in Washington, D.C., as the planet hurdles toward climate chaos?"

________

 

Mark Zuckerberg is a gazillionaire, so why should he care what they think?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • 1711695724
×
×
  • Create New...