A Personal Apology from Mark Zuckerberg
If Mark Zuckerberg were sincere about his intentions to restore Facebook to be the Town Hall he originally marketed his product as he would issue an apology. I have written a possible apology letter for him.
To Everyone Impacted by Our Actions,
Over the years, Facebook has played a significant role in shaping the way people communicate, share ideas, and connect with one another. It was built with a vision of fostering community, enabling open dialogue, and giving everyone a voice. However, I need to acknowledge that, in our pursuit of these goals, we made decisions that ultimately silenced many voices and harmed countless individuals, organizations, and communities. Today, I want to address this directly and take full responsibility for the consequences of those actions.
First and foremost, I want to say I am deeply sorry to everyone who has been negatively impacted by Facebook’s policies on content moderation and censorship. Over the past several years, we implemented measures intended to curb the spread of misinformation, hate speech, and harmful content. While these were noble intentions, our execution was far from perfect—and in many cases, outright wrong.
In our zeal to create a safe and trustworthy platform, we overstepped. We removed content that was not harmful, censored voices that simply disagreed with prevailing narratives, and applied our policies unevenly, often in ways that betrayed our commitment to neutrality. The result was a chilling effect on free expression, especially for those who were advocating for causes, ideas, or perspectives that didn’t align with our policies or algorithms.
I’ve heard from countless individuals whose livelihoods were destroyed, whose audiences were taken away, and whose reputations were tarnished. Writers, journalists, small business owners, activists, and everyday users—many of you trusted Facebook to be a platform for open dialogue and equal opportunity, and we let you down. For that, I am profoundly sorry.
To those whose work was erased, whose accounts were disabled, or whose businesses suffered because of our decisions: I can’t undo the damage we caused, but I promise to do everything in my power to make it right.
Moving forward, here are the steps we’re taking to rebuild trust:
Transparency: Starting immediately, we will publish detailed reports outlining why content is removed or flagged, ensuring that our moderation decisions are both consistent and accountable.
Appeals and Restorations: We are creating a robust appeals process to review past decisions and restore content or accounts that were unfairly censored.
Policy Overhaul: We are revisiting our content moderation policies to ensure they align with our original mission of fostering open dialogue while addressing harm in a balanced and non-partisan way.
Independent Oversight: An independent panel, including free speech advocates, technologists, and community leaders from diverse perspectives, will review our policies and practices.
Support for Affected Users: For those whose businesses, projects, or careers were harmed by our policies, we are establishing a fund to help rebuild what was lost.
This isn’t just a pivot in policy; it’s a fundamental shift in how I view Facebook’s role in society. Freedom of expression is not just a principle—it is the foundation of democracy, innovation, and human connection. By prioritizing control over conversation, we veered off course. I regret that it took me this long to see the harm caused by these decisions.
To those of you who called us out, who refused to stay silent, and who kept fighting for the right to be heard—thank you. You were right, and your persistence has led to this moment of reckoning and change.
I’m committed to earning back your trust, and I’m hopeful that, together, we can create a platform that truly empowers everyone to share their voice without fear of being silenced.
Sincerely,
Mark Zuckerberg
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