Neil Young won't use Facebook over site's 'obvious commitments' to Republicans
Neil Young announced he's "discontinuing use" of Facebook over the company's conservative ties. The liberal singer, who has blocked President Donald Trump from using any of his songs at rallies, made the announcement on his website earlier this week.
"Facebook is facing criticism for sponsoring the annual gala of the Federalist Society, the powerful right wing organization behind the nomination of the conservative supreme court justice Brett Kavanaugh," Young began. "This turn of events, in addition to the false information regularly supplied to the public on Facebook, with its knowledge, has caused us to re-evaluate and change our use policy."
The 74-year-old musician continued, "I don’t feel that a social site should be making obvious commitments to one side of politics or the other. It further confuses readers regarding truthfulness in coverage and message."
Young added that his website, Neil Young Archives, "no longer interested in further links with FACEBOOK, will be discontinuing use. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause to you."
The legendary singer warned fans in October he was considering leaving Facebook.
"We keep looking at Facebook and wondering if we should be using that platform at all, given the latest news. It’s a problem we face together. FB gives you more than you want and it’s not all good. A lot of it is very bad misinformation about political campaigns and ads that are outright falsehoods," he wrote. "These are fine with Facebook, but not with NYA. If we were to leave Facebook with our social outreach we would lose communications with millions. If we continue to be on Facebook, we are conflicted about who we are."
Facebook and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg faced widespread criticism following the 2016 presidential election. Earlier this month, Zuckerberg confirmed his company would continue to distribute political ads without fact-checking them, citing free speech. Young isn't the only celebrity outraged.
While accepting the International Leadership Award at the Anti-Defamation League’s Never is Now summit on anti-Semitism and hate on Thursday, Sacha Baron Cohen called Facebook "the greatest propaganda machine in history." The Who Is America star added that Zuckerberg is facilitating "hate and violence" in America.
"This is not about limiting anyone’s free speech. This is about giving people, including some of the most reprehensible people on earth, the biggest platform in history to reach a third of the planet. Freedom of speech is not freedom of reach," the comedian said. "Sadly, there will always be racists, misogynists, anti-Semites and child abusers. But I think we could all agree that we should not be giving bigots and pedophiles a free platform to amplify their views and target their victims."
"Under this twisted logic, if Facebook were around in the 1930s, it would have allowed Hitler to post 30-second ads on his 'solution' to the 'Jewish problem,'" Cohen added. "So here’s a good standard and practice: Facebook, start fact-checking political ads before you run them, stop micro-targeted lies immediately, and when the ads are false, give back the money and don’t publish them."
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