Mark Zuckerberg Defends Holocaust Deniers During Discussion About Allowing Fake News on Facebook

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended Holocaust deniers during a Recode podcast published on Wednesday.

The comments came during a discussion of Facebook's policy around banning content, or rather, not banning content.

“Let’s take this a little closer to home. So I’m Jewish, and there’s a set of people who deny that the Holocaust happened. I find that deeply offensive," Zuckerberg said to Recode. "But at the end of the day, I don’t believe that our platform should take that down because I think there are things that different people get wrong — I don’t think that they’re intentionally getting it wrong."

He continued by comparing his own missteps when speaking to those of Holocaust deniers.

"It’s hard to impugn intent and to understand the intent. I just think as important as some of those examples are, I think the reality is also that I get things wrong when I speak publicly," Zuckerberg said. "I’m sure you do. I’m sure a lot of leaders and public leaders who we respect do, too. I just don’t think that it is the right thing to say we are going to take someone off the platform if they get things wrong, even multiple times.”

Facebook continues to be embroiled in controversy as the platform remains the subject of congressional hearings for its propagation of fake news.

Zuckerberg claims he feels a "deep sense of responsibility to try to fix the problem.”

But his continued defense of outright fake news draws skepticism about his commitment to reforming his platform.