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Documente Cultură
CURRICULUM
TOPICS GLOSSARY
• Vision
• Aim
1.2 & 1.3
• Strategy
• Objective
Facebook, Inc.
Mark Zuckerberg has revealed deep-seated concerns that the tide is turning against
globalization.
In an interview with the BBC, the Facebook founder said that fake news; polarized views and
"filter bubbles" were damaging "common understanding".
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Business Management CASE STUDY
CURRICULUM
TOPICS GLOSSARY
• Vision
• Aim
1.2 & 1.3
• Strategy
• Objective
He said people had been left behind by global growth, sparking demands to "withdraw" from
the "connected world".
In a call to action, he said people must not "sit around and be upset", but act to build "social
infrastructures".
"When I started Facebook, the mission of connecting the world was not controversial," he told
me.
What is Facebook
"It was as if it was a default assumption that people had; every year the world got more
Has Facebook’s m
connected and that seems like the direction things were heading in.
Losing hope
Is Facebook’s miss
He told the BBC: "There are people around the world that feel left behind by globalization and
the rapid changes that have happened, and there are movements as a result to withdraw from
some of that global connection."
What is Facebook
What is the differe
Image copyright AFP/GETTY Image caption
Anti-globalization protests, such as this one in
the Philippines, have broken out across the
world.
Is Facebook’s visio 2
Business Management CASE STUDY
CURRICULUM
TOPICS GLOSSARY
• Vision
• Aim
1.2 & 1.3
• Strategy
• Objective
Mr Zuckerberg's interview comes alongside the publication of a 5,500-word letter he has
written about the future of Facebook and the global economy.
In it Mr Zuckerberg quotes Abraham Lincoln who spoke of acting "in concert", and talks about
"spiritual needs", civic engagement and says that many people have "lost hope for the future".
"For a couple of decades, may be longer, people have really sold this idea that as the world
comes together everything is going to get better," he said.
"I think the reality is that over the long term that will be true, and there are pieces of
infrastructure that we can build to make sure that a global community works for everyone.
"But I do think there are some ways in which this idea of globalization didn't take into account
some of the challenges it was going to create for people, and now I think some of what you
see is a reaction to that.
"If people are asking the question, is the direction for humanity to come together more or not?
I think that answer is clearly yes.
"But we have to make sure the global community works for everyone. It is not just
automatically going to happen.
"All these different kinds of institutions, whether they are governments, or non-profits, or
companies, need to do their part in building this infrastructure to empower people so that it
creates opportunities for everyone, not just some people.
"If you are upset about the direction things are going in, I hope you don't just sit around and
be upset, but you feel urgent about building the long term infrastructure that needs to get
built," Mr Zuckerberg said.
Global challenges
I asked him whether he felt President Trump agreed with his view that "bringing people
together" and "connecting the world" would lead to greater progress.
Mr Zuckerberg did not, famously, attend the round-table of technology leaders hosted by the
new president.
"I don't think I am going to speak to that directly," he answered carefully. "You can talk to him,
you can look at what he has said to get a sense of that.
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Business Management CASE STUDY
CURRICULUM
TOPICS GLOSSARY
• Vision
• Aim
1.2 & 1.3
• Strategy
• Objective
"The thing that I will say is that a lot of folks will look at this through the lens of one or two
events, and I really do think this is a broader trend.
"I have been talking about this for a long time, since before recent elections both across
Europe and Asia and the US.
"A lot of today's biggest opportunities will come from bringing people together - whether that
is spreading prosperity or freedom, or accelerating science, or promoting peace and
understanding."
"These are inherently global things and require a different level of infrastructure than we've
had historically."
Political ambitions?
"I would like that not be the focus of this. I don't really have much comment on that. It
somewhat detracts from the focus of what we are trying to do here."
There has been speculation that Mr Zuckerberg could be contemplating a political career, and
even suggestions that he will run for US president in 2020 - rumors he has flatly denied.
I said the political tone of the manifesto would do little to dampen speculation about where he
sees himself longer term.
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Business Management CASE STUDY
CURRICULUM
TOPICS GLOSSARY
• Vision
• Aim
1.2 & 1.3
• Strategy
• Objective
Could he imagine himself going into politics? "I am not doing that now, it's not the plan," he
said. "The thing I really care about is connecting the world."
Facebook has been attacked for not doing enough to tackle "fake news" - untrue stories which
claimed, for example, that the Pope backed Mr Trump - which have appeared prominently on
its news feeds.
In Germany, there has been controversy after a Green MP was quoted in a Facebook post
defending an asylum seeker from Afghanistan who had raped and murdered a German
student.
The MP, Renate Kuenast, had never said what was attributed to her by a right-wing extremist
organisation.
Ms Kuenast said she found it hard to accept that "Zuckerberg earns billions, shows off with all
his charitable donations, and at the same time allows Facebook to become a tool of
extremists".
Freedom of opinion
"We've made progress fighting hoaxes the way we fight spam, but we have more work to do.
"We are proceeding carefully because there is not always a clear line between hoaxes, satire
and opinion."
But Mr Zuckerberg added: "In a free society, it's important that people have the power to
share their opinion, even if others think they're wrong.
"Our approach will focus less on banning misinformation, and more on surfacing additional
perspectives and information, including that fact checkers dispute an item's accuracy."
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Business Management CASE STUDY
CURRICULUM
TOPICS GLOSSARY
• Vision
• Aim
1.2 & 1.3
• Strategy
• Objective
He told me that "polarization and
sensationalism" also undermined
"common understanding".
"And I think it is our responsibility to amplify the good effects and mitigate the negative ones
so we can create a community that has a common understanding
"There is a lot of research that shows we have the best discourse when we connect as whole
people rather than just opinions.
"If I get to know you on the values that we have in common or even the interests that we share
it is a lot easier to have a debate about something that we disagree about productively than if
we just meet and go head to head on something without understanding our common
humanity."
'Setting an example'
Some may argue there is a question of legitimacy here, that no one voted for Mark Zuckerberg
and question his right to outline - and attempt to execute - a vision of the world.
And what about those controversies over taxes paid, or privacy, or vast profits in an age when
inequality is as much a factor behind the present dim view of many in the political and business
establishment as any perceived failures of globalization.
"There are a lot of areas that I know we need to improve and I appreciate the criticism and
feedback and hope we can continue to do better on them," Mr Zuckerberg said, pointing out
that he is donating 99% of his Facebook shares - worth £36bn ($45bn) - to the charitable
foundation he runs with his wife, Priscilla Chan.
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Business Management CASE STUDY
CURRICULUM
TOPICS GLOSSARY
• Vision
• Aim
1.2 & 1.3
• Strategy
• Objective
"Being a good corporate citizen is really important," he said. "We operate in a lot of different
countries all around the world.
"We need to be help build those communities and that is what I am trying to do in my personal
philanthropy - setting an example hopefully for other entrepreneurs who will build things in the
future for how you should give back to the community and to the world.
internal and/or ex
What is Facebook