Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a social media post on his own personal page he would meet with "leading conservatives" in the coming weeks to discuss, and hopefully clarify, the allegations that have swirled about the platform's failure to post certain right-leaning headlines in its coveted "Trending News" section, on purpose and due to employee political bias.
He also denied any bias at his business.
He wrote: "I want to share some thoughts on the discussion about Trending Topics. Facebook stands for giving everyone a voice. We believe the world is better when people from different backgrounds and with different ideas all have the power to share their thoughts and experiences. That's what makes social media unique. We are one global community where anyone can share anything – from a loving photo of a mother and her baby to intellectual analysis of political events."
Zuckerberg also assured "we have rigorous guidelines that do not permit the prioritization of one viewpoint over another or the suppression of political perspectives."
He then referred to stories that surfaced earlier this week, as reported by WND, that cited former Facebook contractors saying they were specifically told to suppress various conservative viewpoints on the "Trending Topics" section, or had knowledge of their superiors doing just that.
"We take this report very seriously and are conducting a full investigation to ensure our teams upheld the integrity of this product," Zuckerberg wrote. "We have found no evidence that this report is true. If we find anything against our principles, you have my commitment that we will take additional steps to address it."
Further, Zuckerberg promised "in the coming weeks, I'll be inviting leading conservatives and people from across the political spectrum to talk with me about this and share their points of view. I want to have a direct conversation about what Facebook stands for and how we can be sure our platform stays as open as possible. The reason I care so much about this is that it gets to the core of everything Facebook is and everything I want it to be."