Facebook Workers Outraged Over Jewish Exec’s Support Of Kavanaugh
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Facebook’s headquarters have been rife with internal debate as hundreds of employees shared their disdain over a top executive’s presence at Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s hearing last week, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The social media giant has since admitted it “made mistakes” in how it handled the situation, CNBC reported.
Employees brought their concerns to CEO Mark Zuckerberg after Joel Kaplan, Facebook’s head of global policy, was seen in the middle of the hearing on Sept. 27, according to Journal. Kaplan is a close friend of Kavanaugh, a fellow George W. Bush administration aide.
Hundreds of employees wrote on internal message boards about Kaplan’s decision, with many arguing that it came across as though the social network was supporting a man accused of sexual assault, according to reports.
The controversy was addressed at Zuckerberg’s weekly question-and-answer session last Friday, and COO Sheryl Sandberg weighed in on an internal discussion thread, according to people familiar with the posts.
Zuckerberg said at the meeting that while he wouldn’t have gone to the hearing, Kaplan’s appearance didn’t violate Facebook policies.
“This fire has been burning for a full week now,” one employee told WSJ.
Kaplan was initially defensive about appearance, claiming he took the day off and so went to the hearing on his own time. He later apologized in an internal forum for not recognizing how his presence at the hearing could be controversial, people familiar with the response said. However, he didn’t apologize for supporting Kavanaugh.
In a statement to CNBC, Facebook said: “Sexual assault is an issue society has turned a blind eye to for far too long — compounding every victim’s pain. Our leadership team recognizes that they’ve made mistakes handling the events of the last week and we’re grateful for all the feedback from our employees.”
Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
