- Queens Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sparred with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Wednesday over the social networking giant's policy allowing politicians to run untrue political ads.
- Ocasio-Cortez grilled Zuckerberg on the Cambridge Analytica election-data-manipulation scandal — Zuckerberg said he learned of the breach 'around' March 2018, even though correspondence unearthed in a lawsuit this year showed executives knew about potential improper data harvesting as early as September 2015 — and then she turned to.
Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and other Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee were slammed online on Wednesday over their 'arrogant,' 'inaccurate,' and 'embarrassing' attacks on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
At the time, Ocasio-Cortez asked Zuckerberg why right-wing news outlets with ties to white supremacists, such as The Daily Caller, were labeled as official fact-checkers on the platform, and questioned his private dinner parties with the likes of Tucker Carlson, the Fox News.
Zuckerberg appeared before the committee for over six hours to answer questions about Facebook's proposed cryptocurrency, Libra.
'Anybody who believes the Democrats are angry at Facebook because they want more free speech should take a look at this,' Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro commented on the hearing. 'Democrats are angry at Facebook because they want less free speech. They simply want more Democratic control of the means of informational distribution.'
Rep. Al Green (D-TX) pressed Zuckerberg about the representation that certain intersectional groups have within the company's Libra project.
After asking how many women and how many minorities worked on the project, Green asked Zuckerberg: 'Are there any members of the LGBTQ+ community associated with this association, Mr. Zuckerberg?' Parish la phone number.
WATCH:
.@RepAlGreen is incredulous Mark Zuckerberg doesn't know how many staffers working on Libra are LGBT pic.twitter.com/K6AJXFIZlp
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) October 23, 2019
Senior RealClearInvestigations writer Mark Hemingway commented on Greens' remarks, tweeting: 'Gotta love it when bosses make a habit of brushing up on their employees' sex lives. Really shows you care.'
'Is it legal to collect this information?' Reason staff editor Liz Wolf tweeted. 'Is it in any way relevant to the employee's ability to do their job well? JFC, people.'
During another portion of questioning, Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) suggested, without evidence, that Zuckerberg had 'ruined the lives of many [African-Americans].'
'Do you know what percentage of African Americans are on Facebook, in comparison to majority folks?' Beatty pressed. 'Do you know what the percentages are?'
Zuckerberg responded: 'I don't because we don't collect the races of people.'
WATCH:
Democrat Rep. Joyce Beatty (OH) gets nasty with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg: 'You have ruined the lives of many [African-Americans]'
What on earth is she talking about?
This is insane pic.twitter.com/ugViEELGRO
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) October 23, 2019
'Holy, this lady almost makes AOC look competent,' Dave Rubin commented. 'I actually feel bad for Zuckerberg. That's how totally ridiculous these congresspeople are.'
During another embarrassing portion of the hearing, far-left Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) attacked Zuckerberg over the fact that some people in the world do not have a lot of money.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19314251/1182969985.jpg.jpg "Ocasio")
Pressley, like many of her Democrat cohorts, repeatedly pressed Zuckerberg on questions that he was unlikely to know the answers to and then cut him off before he could offer any real response to their questions.
WATCH:
.@RepPressley attacks Zuckerberg, says Libra won't be useful for people with 'virtually no money' pic.twitter.com/eF4Ad5wW9W
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) October 23, 2019
The most cringeworthy portion of the hearing belonged to Ocasio-Cortez, whose arrogance and desire for censoring her opponents was on full display.
Ocasio-Cortez suggested that she wanted to take advantage of the fact that Facebook tries to not censor political speech from politicians by intentionally lying in her campaign ads, specifically wanting to falsely claim that Republicans supported her $93 trillion Green New Deal.
WATCH:
Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) gets nasty with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg
AOC's arrogance here is absolutely embarrassing pic.twitter.com/gVTURgvzlk
Riley Roberts Ocasio Cortez
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) October 23, 2019
Ocasio-Cortez then leveled bogus attacks against The Daily Caller, a conservative publication that has been critical of Ocasio-Cortez's often flawed ideas and has often called out her false statements and highlighted corruption that involves her.
WATCH:
.@AOC attacks Zuckerberg for the @DailyCaller having a role in fact checking. She says the news outlet 'has ties to white supremacists.' pic.twitter.com/wRe74ixjZP
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) October 23, 2019
Ocasio-Cortez claimed that The Daily Caller 'has ties to white supremacists,' a claim that drew quick response from the leadership at The Daily Caller.
'Those accusations are rich coming from the leader of the most openly anti-Semitic freshman Congress in modern American history,' Daily Caller Editor-in-Chief Geoffrey Ingersoll told The Daily Wire. 'Ocasio-Cortez herself employed a staffer who lionized Nazis collaborators. Maybe she should spend more time cleaning her room and making her bed before she goes to work.'
'Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez's call for censorship is typical coming from a party hellbent on annihilating opposing views, in this case one of the only groups of journalists aggressively reporting on her,' Ingersoll added.
In a tweet, The Daily Caller wrote: 'Ooh did our reporting on her campaign finance shenanigans get under her skin?'
The tweet linked to a report by investigative reporter Andrew Kerr titled, 'Ocasio-Cortez And Her Chief Of Staff ‘Could Be Facing Jail Time' If Their Control Over PAC Was Intentionally Hidden, Former FEC Commissioner Says.'
The Daily Caller issued a statement on Ocasio-Cortez's remarks from publisher Neil Patel.
'Our reporting has directly contributed to putting four members of the ‘alt-right' in prison and sending two more on the run, at great personal risk to our reporters on the ground,' Patel wrote. 'And as a minority-owned and minority-run news company with a diverse staff — including many African-American, Jewish, Asian, and other minority employees — any allegation that our company is in league with white supremacy is offensive.'
'We have denounced white supremacy in the past and are happy to do so again,' Patel continued. 'We share nothing with them and they aren't welcome at our company. For a sitting member of Congress to knowingly repeat such spurious allegations — especially during these polarized, violent times — is not just despicable, it endangers our staff.'
.@AOC's statement is dangerous on a fundamental level, not just because it is inaccurate and damaging.
Ocasio Cortez Zuckerberg Video
I have a diverse staff — in politics, race, and creed — and when lunatics roaming the streets think its okay to get violent, this kind of allegation puts my reporters at risk. https://t.co/W3tNY7Ivkz
Zuckerberg responded: 'I don't because we don't collect the races of people.'
WATCH:
Democrat Rep. Joyce Beatty (OH) gets nasty with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg: 'You have ruined the lives of many [African-Americans]'
What on earth is she talking about?
This is insane pic.twitter.com/ugViEELGRO
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) October 23, 2019
'Holy, this lady almost makes AOC look competent,' Dave Rubin commented. 'I actually feel bad for Zuckerberg. That's how totally ridiculous these congresspeople are.'
During another embarrassing portion of the hearing, far-left Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) attacked Zuckerberg over the fact that some people in the world do not have a lot of money.
Pressley, like many of her Democrat cohorts, repeatedly pressed Zuckerberg on questions that he was unlikely to know the answers to and then cut him off before he could offer any real response to their questions.
WATCH:
.@RepPressley attacks Zuckerberg, says Libra won't be useful for people with 'virtually no money' pic.twitter.com/eF4Ad5wW9W
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) October 23, 2019
The most cringeworthy portion of the hearing belonged to Ocasio-Cortez, whose arrogance and desire for censoring her opponents was on full display.
Ocasio-Cortez suggested that she wanted to take advantage of the fact that Facebook tries to not censor political speech from politicians by intentionally lying in her campaign ads, specifically wanting to falsely claim that Republicans supported her $93 trillion Green New Deal.
WATCH:
Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) gets nasty with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg
AOC's arrogance here is absolutely embarrassing pic.twitter.com/gVTURgvzlk
Riley Roberts Ocasio Cortez
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) October 23, 2019
Ocasio-Cortez then leveled bogus attacks against The Daily Caller, a conservative publication that has been critical of Ocasio-Cortez's often flawed ideas and has often called out her false statements and highlighted corruption that involves her.
WATCH:
.@AOC attacks Zuckerberg for the @DailyCaller having a role in fact checking. She says the news outlet 'has ties to white supremacists.' pic.twitter.com/wRe74ixjZP
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) October 23, 2019
Ocasio-Cortez claimed that The Daily Caller 'has ties to white supremacists,' a claim that drew quick response from the leadership at The Daily Caller.
'Those accusations are rich coming from the leader of the most openly anti-Semitic freshman Congress in modern American history,' Daily Caller Editor-in-Chief Geoffrey Ingersoll told The Daily Wire. 'Ocasio-Cortez herself employed a staffer who lionized Nazis collaborators. Maybe she should spend more time cleaning her room and making her bed before she goes to work.'
'Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez's call for censorship is typical coming from a party hellbent on annihilating opposing views, in this case one of the only groups of journalists aggressively reporting on her,' Ingersoll added.
In a tweet, The Daily Caller wrote: 'Ooh did our reporting on her campaign finance shenanigans get under her skin?'
The tweet linked to a report by investigative reporter Andrew Kerr titled, 'Ocasio-Cortez And Her Chief Of Staff ‘Could Be Facing Jail Time' If Their Control Over PAC Was Intentionally Hidden, Former FEC Commissioner Says.'
The Daily Caller issued a statement on Ocasio-Cortez's remarks from publisher Neil Patel.
'Our reporting has directly contributed to putting four members of the ‘alt-right' in prison and sending two more on the run, at great personal risk to our reporters on the ground,' Patel wrote. 'And as a minority-owned and minority-run news company with a diverse staff — including many African-American, Jewish, Asian, and other minority employees — any allegation that our company is in league with white supremacy is offensive.'
'We have denounced white supremacy in the past and are happy to do so again,' Patel continued. 'We share nothing with them and they aren't welcome at our company. For a sitting member of Congress to knowingly repeat such spurious allegations — especially during these polarized, violent times — is not just despicable, it endangers our staff.'
.@AOC's statement is dangerous on a fundamental level, not just because it is inaccurate and damaging.
Ocasio Cortez Zuckerberg Video
I have a diverse staff — in politics, race, and creed — and when lunatics roaming the streets think its okay to get violent, this kind of allegation puts my reporters at risk. https://t.co/W3tNY7Ivkz
— Geoffrey Ingersoll (@GPIngersoll) October 24, 2019
Ocasio-Cortez's attacks on Zuckerberg predictably earned the strongest negative reaction online.
Dave Rubin tweeted: 'She's absolutely awful. Zuckerberg tries to calmly explain that allowing people to decide for themselves is sometimes what's right. That's foreign to progressive groupthink.'
Tim Pool tweeted: 'AOC just proved exactly why Mark Zuckerberg is right to not police truthfulness of political speech Poynter runs the fact checking approval for Facebook, she is wrong and is smearing the Daily Caller Should Facebook ban AOC from saying this on FB?'
Guy Benson tweeted: 'Can confirm: White supremacy was not joked about, made light of, espoused, or even mentioned at the ‘far right' / Zuckerberg dinner party I attended. What a performance she put on.'
Allie Beth Stuckey tweeted: 'My gosh. @AOC tries very hard to seem fierce and operates solely out of a desire for viral clips. These questions are not at all interesting or clever, and she is cringefully arrogant.'
