Zuckerberg Posts Yom Kippur Apology For Facebook ‘Dividing People’

Image by getty images

By JTA October 1, 2017

(JTA) — Facebook CEO Marc Zuckerberg in a post-Yom Kippur message on his social network asked for forgiveness for the misuse of Facebook in the past year.

He posted on his personal Facebook account: “Tonight concludes Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year for Jews when we reflect on the past year and ask forgiveness for our mistakes. For those I hurt this year, I ask forgiveness and I will try to be better. 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. May we all be better in the year ahead, and may you all be inscribed in the book of life.”

Though Zuckerberg did not say to what he was referring, some speculated that he meant the use of Facebook in last year’s election in which at least 3,000 ads on the Facebook site had been placed by a Russian agency to influence the 2016 presidential election. The discovery of the ads came after months of denial by Zuckerberg that Facebook played any role in influencing U.S. voters.

In addition, an investigative news website recently discovered that it was possible to target ads at Facebook users who expressed interest in subjects such as “Jew hater” and “how to burn Jews.” Facebook removed the categories after being alerted to their existence and said it would seek to prevent such categories from popping up for potential advertisers.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO