Mark Zuckerberg refuses to apologize for Facebook’s inflated claims about video views on his platform as Democrat Jerry Nadler denies him lies that caused journalists to lose their jobs
- Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg denied knowing that Facebook had inflated its video stats for over a year.
- He had been asked about this by the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Jerry Nadler, who said that “hundreds of journalists” were fired for inflated video metrics.
- Nadler was referring to the tendency of newsrooms to fire writers and strengthen video departments using Facebook video consumption as a guide.
- Zuckerberg, at a judicial subcommittee hearing, said the company regretted[ted] that mistake, “but he doesn’t apologize to the journalists
- Facebook’s nondisclosure was made public as part of a lawsuit filed against the tech giant by advertisers in 2018.
Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg denied knowing that Facebook’s video statistics were inflated for more than a year during a hearing Wednesday before a subcommittee of the House of Judiciary.
Judicial Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler had asked him about the scandal, who stormed the head of Facebook because “based on these metrics, news editors fired hundreds of journalists and decided to increase their video division.”
“Congressman, no, I did not and we regret that mistake and have implemented many other measures since then,” said Zuckerberg.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg denied that he knew Facebook was inflating video audience claims, prompting news organizations to fire the writers and focus on the video.
![Judicial Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, who virtually participated in Wednesday's hearing, asked Mark Zuckerberg about the statistics of the videos being inflated on Facebook, which he said led to 'news firms'[ing] hundreds of journalists, opting to boost their video division '](https://i0.wp.com/i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/07/29/22/31345646-8573697-image-a-14_1596058767553.jpg?resize=618%2C349&ssl=1)
Judicial Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, who virtually participated in Wednesday’s hearing, asked Mark Zuckerberg about the statistics of the videos being inflated on Facebook, which he said led to ‘news firms'[ing] hundreds of journalists, choosing to push their video division ‘
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared at the Capitol Hill Judiciary Subcommittee hearing via video chat, as Congress is still outdoing business virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic
Nadler gave Zuckerberg a chance to apologize.
“What do you have to say to journalists who lost their jobs due to the Facebook hoax?”
Zuckerberg did not respond: “Congressman, I do not agree with that characterization, nor with your description of what …”
Zuckerberg did not finish his statement when Nadler snapped, ‘OK, reclaiming my time.’
In October 2018, advertisers filed a complaint in California federal court, which was part of a 2016 lawsuit against the tech giant.
The filing, according to reports by The Wall Street Journal, said Facebook knew there was a problem in how the company measured video audience on the platform for more than a year before publicly revealing the problem in 2016.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit called this fraud claiming that Facebook knew of the irregularities in January 2015 and understood the impact in a few months, although it did not disclose the problem for more than a year.
The 2018 filing was based on some 80,000 internal technology company documents obtained through the lawsuit.
Nadler opened this particular question with Zuckerberg by mentioning the bets.
“The news and journalism industry in this country is in economic decline, more than 200 counties in the United States no longer have a local newspaper, and tens of thousands of journalists have been fired in recent years,” the New York Democrat began.
The reason why journalism is in free fall is that Google and Facebook now capture the vast majority of digital advertising revenue, ”he continued. “Although news publishers produce valuable content, it is Google and Facebook that are increasingly benefiting from that content.”
Nadler later accused Google and Facebook of practicing “anti-competitive conduct,” which was the broadest subject of Wednesday’s hearing in the Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law subcommittee.
Nadler asked Zuckerberg if he realized the damage he caused to journalists in the United States.
Zuckerberg did not answer questions directly about the media industry.
“Congressman, I certainly know how important it is that the metrics we report are accurate and we have put in place additional measures to make sure we can audit them,” the Facebook chief said.
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