Over the weekend, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg posted a Yom Kippur message to his followers, asking for forgiveness for any role his work had in dividing people.
Though he didn’t mention any single feature or incident by name, his platform has faced criticism in recent weeks after it was discovered that Russian parties used Facebook to try to influence the election. The site’s ad program also had features that allowed messages to specifically target racists. (Also, as anyone who has even casually used Facebook knows, there is no shortage of hate-filled garbage that is posted every day.)
Zuckerberg wrote,
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Tonight concludes Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year for Jews when we reflect on the past year and ask forgiveness for our mistakes. For those I hurt this year, I ask forgiveness and I will try to be better. For the ways my work was used to divide people rather than bring us together, I ask forgiveness and I will work to do better. May we all be better in the year ahead, and may you all be inscribed in the book of life.
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