Zuckerberg Donates 360 Billion KRW to Improve US Election Infrastructure

Critical Views on Donations Amid Facebook Fairness Controversy

▲Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook [Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, and his spouse Priscilla Chan have pledged to donate $300 million (approximately 360 billion KRW) to improve voting infrastructure ahead of the U.S. presidential election this November.

On the 1st (local time), the Zuckerberg couple announced that they would donate $250 million and $50 million respectively to the nonprofit organizations Center for Technology and Civic Life (CTCL) and Center for Election Innovation and Research (CEIR).

According to a joint statement released by the two organizations that received donations from the Zuckerbergs, the purpose of this contribution is to prevent voting from becoming a health threat or election fairness from being compromised due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Zuckerbergs stated, "The more we think about this election, the more we feel it is important to ensure that small towns and states have the resources needed to cope with unprecedented conditions, and that people recognize there is infrastructure in place to count every single vote so that election results are accepted as legitimate."

However, despite the meaningful donation by the couple, public perception is not entirely favorable due to ongoing controversies surrounding Facebook and election fairness.

Facebook has recently faced criticism for its lukewarm stance on cracking down on misinformation that could influence elections and for fact-checking politicians' posts while citing freedom of expression.

In particular, other social media platforms like Twitter have implemented policies labeling posts by U.S. President Donald Trump as "likely false information," leading to comparisons regarding social responsibility.

Facebook also faced difficulties during the 2016 U.S. presidential election amid privacy violations and fairness controversies.

At that time, Facebook was damaged in credibility after it was revealed that it had provided tens of millions of users' personal data to political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica (CA), which the Trump campaign strategically used in its election efforts.