On Thursday , Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg assured members of the Congressional Black Caucus ( CBC ) that the social media companywill name a black directorto its add-in “ within the foreseeable future . ” Currently , Facebook ’s eight - member board of directorsis all whiteand 75 percent male .
Sandberg ’s coming together with the caucus was just the tardy full stop in an apologia tour found after Facebook face rough criticism for denying , back trailing , then finally admitting the key role it play inRussia ’s disinformation military campaign . As part of its campaign , Politico reports , Russia pushedads that implied rising black militancy , including images ofblack women holding gunsand schoolbook condemn police force brutality , stoke anxietyabout an armed # BlackLivesMatter rebellion .
“ What we needed Facebook to see is that they act a function in the perception of African - Americans , and they are influencers that use their platform to influence this nation , ” Cedric Richmond , CBC chairperson , told reporters .
No hiring deadline was discussed beyond “ the future tense . ”
give the make up of Facebook ’s leadership , diversity solecism are unsurprisingly routine . In 2016 , CEO Mark Zuckerbergdefended white billionaire conservativePeter Thiel ’s cellular inclusion on the board as “ multifariousness . ” In March of this yr , helectured studentsNorth Carolina A&T State University , a historically mordant college , about the meritoriousness of diversity using factually erroneous selective information . There were many empty platitudes about the importance of hiring woman and people of color , butthe party ’s diversity report , released in August , unwrap the company only engage about 40 more pitch-black people in 2017 than in 2016 — out of 2,000 fresh employee .
This , of trend , is in addition to the racism and anti - Semitism on the program that seems to make headlines almost every month . In September , Pro Publica exposed Facebook’sblack box algorithmswere creating “ jew hunter ” targeted marketing categories . The same fact-finding team unearth last twelvemonth that Facebook was in danger ofviolating the Civil Rights Actby have adman boot out user free-base on wash .
In any character , Facebook ’s display board is for sure excited to make its first fatal friend .
[ The Hill ]
DiversityFacebookMark ZuckerbergSheryl Sandberg
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