Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey responds to criticism after dustup over adding fact-check labels to Trump's tweets

Jack Dorsey

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey responded to criticism from President Donald Trump and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a series of tweets Wednesday night.
Trump lashed out at Twitter after a fact-checking label was added to several of his incorrect tweets about mail-in ballots in California, claiming the system is wrought with fraud and corruption.
Zuckerberg contrasted his own social media site with Twitter, saying Facebook "shouldn't be the arbiter of truth of everything that people say online."
Dorsey explained that the fact-checking links were meant to help users "connect the dots of conflicting statements and show the information in dispute so people can judge for themselves."
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Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey responded on Wednesday to mounting criticism from President Donald Trump and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg after Twitter added fact-checking labels to the president's tweets about mail-in ballots.

Dorsey tweeted Wednesday night saying that he is "ultimately accountable" for Twitter's actions regarding the fact-check links on the president's tweets, and implored the public to "leave our employees out of this."

"We'll continue to point out incorrect or disputed information about elections globally," Dorsey wrote. "And we will admit to and own any mistakes we make."

Trump went on a tweetstorm in light of the fact-check links, accusing the company of "interfering" in the 2020 election and for "stifling FREE SPEECH," he wrote Tuesday.

Twitter Safety added context behind the decision to put fact-checking links on Trump's tweets about mail-in ballots because it "could confuse voters about what they need to do to receive a ballot and participate in the election process," according to the tweet.

We also wanted to provide additional context and conversation with regard to voter fraud and mail-in ballots. We have a range of remediations, and in some cases we add labels that link to more context. https://t.co/k6OkjNXEAm
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) May 28, 2020

Zuckerberg told Fox News on Wednesday that he thinks Facebook has a "different policy" than Twitter when it comes to fact-checking.

"I just believe strongly that Facebook shouldn't be the arbiter of truth of everything that people say online," the Facebook CEO told Fox News. "Private companies probably shouldn't be, especially these platform companies, shouldn't be in the position of doing that."

Dorsey also responded to Zuckerberg's comments, saying that it wasn't the goal of the company to be an "arbiter of truth."

"Our intention is to connect the dots of conflicting statements and show the information in dispute so people can judge for themselves," Dorsey tweeted. "More transparency from us is critical so folks can clearly see the why behind our actions."

In light of the Twitter feud, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on Wednesday that the president plans to sign an executive order "pertaining to social media," according to reporters aboard Air Force One. It is not immediately clear what the executive order will pertain to, but PBS Newshour White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor reported that it will be signed on Thursday.

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