Facebook fired an employee who protested the social network's non-interventionist approach to President Donald Trump's controversial messages after publicly denouncing another employee's "inaction" in a tweet.
Brandon Dail, who worked as an engineer at Facebook in Seattle, said in a tweet on Friday that he lost his job after asking another employee to add a Black Lives Matter banner to a website about a tool created by Facebook. Dail said the employee refused because he didn't want to be political.
For the sake of transparency, I was fired for reporting the inaction of an employee here on Twitter. I stand by what I said. They didn't give me a chance to leave 😅 https://t.co/zMw8ARMwZt
- Brandon Dail (@aweary) June 12, 2020
For more like that
Subscribe to the CNET Now newsletter for our editors' selections for the most important stories of the day.
In the public tweet posted on June 2, Dail mentions the employee by name and stated that "not making an intentional statement is already political".
Facebook confirmed that Dail's characterization of his shot was accurate but did not provide further details. Dail did not respond to a request for comment.
The social network has been criticized by its own employees for failing to take action against Trump's messages which workers and critics say may incite violence. Earlier this month, hundreds of employees staged a rare virtual walkout to protest the company's stance on political discourse. Trump's posts included the phrase " when looting begins, filming begins " in response to protests that erupted after the death of George Floyd, a black man from Minnesota who died after a white policeman stuck his neck with the knee. Some employees resigned while others threatened to leave the company.
Facebook said Trump's publications did not violate its rules against incitement to violence and that it allowed for discussion of state use of force. The social network's approach contrasted with Twitter, which added a public service announcement to Trump's tweet.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said last week that the company is reviewing its policies, including the rules that allow discussion on the use of state force. Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan said in a Twitter letter Thursday that they were "deeply shaken and disgusted"By Trump's" inflammatory and inflammatory rhetoric ".
