In a battle of superstars on social media, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg for what he said was his role in fueling the Jan. 6 riot on Capitol Hill. .
“He’s part of that problem,” the Democrat said at an online City Council meeting Friday with components from the Bronx and Queens. “And Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook are partly responsible for Wednesday’s events, period.”
The social media mogul, she said, has surrounded white supremacist groups on Facebook and even accused, attended “dinners with white supremacist sympathizers.”
“They specifically addressed this kind of radicalization differently, also known as children’s gloves,” said AOC, who noted his controversial exchange with Zuckerberg at a congressional hearing in 2019.
“I specifically asked him about election-related misinformation … and the link between that misinformation and white supremacist ties,” he said. “We saw what was coming for a long time.”
Ocasio-Cortez has claimed for months that the use of Facebook by conservative newspaper Daily Caller in its efforts to verify the facts is proof of Zuckerberg’s sympathy for white supremacists.
“There’s a very clear link here,” he insisted Friday.
The Daily Caller has rejected Ocasio-Cortez’s allegations and called them “offensive.”
“They’re currently doing as much damage control as possible,” AOC said Friday, noting Facebook’s decision to withdraw President Trump’s access to the platform in the wake of last week’s violence.
“But they knew it,” he said. “And not only did they know it, but they allowed it.”