Facebook Inc founder and Chief
Executive Mark Zuckerberg asked for forgiveness for ways his
work was used to divide people in a Facebook posting marking the
end of Yom Kippur, the Jewish holiday of atonement on Saturday.
"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," Zuckerberg said in the post.
He did not refer to specific issues in the message, which
comes as Facebook and other technology companies are under
increased scrutiny amid a U.S. investigation into potential
Russian involvement in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election
campaign.
Facebook said on September 6 it had found that an operation
likely based in Russia spent $100,000 on thousands of U.S. ads
promoting divisive social and political messages in a
two-year-period through May.
Facebook, the dominant social media network, said 3,000 ads
and 470 "inauthentic" accounts and pages spread polarizing views
on topics including immigration, race and gay rights.
Facebook has launched an overhaul of how it handles paid
political advertisements, after U.S. lawmakers threatened to
regulate the world's largest social network over secretive ads
that run during election campaigns.
Probes being conducted by several congressional committees
along with the Department of Justice, have clouded U.S.
President Donald Trump's tenure since he took office in January
and have threatened his agenda, which has yet to secure a major
legislative victory.