SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg said Wednesday that a lack of action by US authorities on fake political content on the platform after the 2016 US election helped pave the way for a subsequent avalanche of online disinformation.
The CEO — who has himself been widely criticized for a lackluster response to fake news — also called on governments to further regulate private data, political advertising and step up efforts to prevent state actors from interfering in US elections.
“As a private company we don’t have the tools to make the Russian government stop... our government is the one that has the tools to apply pressure to Russia,” he said during an on-stage interview at the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado.
“After 2016 when the government didn’t take any kind of counter action, the signal that was sent to the world was that ‘ok we’re open for business’, countries can try to do this stuff... fundamentally there isn’t going to be a major recourse from the American government.”
Zuckerberg also said the leading social network is struggling to find ways to deal with “deepfake” videos which have the potential to deceive and manipulate users on a massive scale.
The comments come amid growing concern over deepfakes — which are altered by using artificial intelligence to appear genuine — being used to manipulate elections or potentially spark unrest.
Earlier this month, Facebook’s Instagram network decided not to take down a fake video of Zuckerberg himself, saying the CEO would not get special treatment.
Online platforms have been walking a fine line, working to root out misinformation and manipulation efforts while keeping open to free speech.
Zuckerberg said this is a constant challenge, repeating his position that Facebook should not be an arbiter of truth on the Internet.
“I do not think we want to go so far toward saying that a private company prevents you from saying something that it thinks is factually incorrect to another person,” he said.
Zuckerberg: US government inaction allowed fake news to spread
Zuckerberg: US government inaction allowed fake news to spread
- The CEO also called on governments to further regulate private data, political advertising and step up efforts to prevent state actors from interfering in US elections
- Zuckerberg also said the leading social network is struggling to find ways to deal with “deepfake” videos
Paris exhibition marks 200 years of Le Figaro and the enduring power of the press
- The exhibition celebrated the bicentennial of Le Figaro, offering visitors a rare opportunity to step inside the newspaper’s vast historical archive
PARIS: One of France’s most influential newspapers marked a major milestone this month with a landmark exhibition beneath the soaring glass nave of the Grand Palais, tracing two centuries of journalism, literature and political debate.
Titled 1826–2026: 200 years of freedom, the exhibition celebrated the bicentennial of Le Figaro, offering visitors a rare opportunity to step inside the newspaper’s vast historical archive. Held over three days in mid-January, the free exhibition drew large crowds eager to explore how the title has both chronicled and shaped modern French history.
More than 300 original items were displayed, including historic front pages, photographs, illustrations and handwritten manuscripts. Together, they charted Le Figaro’s evolution from a 19th-century satirical publication into a leading national daily, reflecting eras of revolution, war, cultural change and technological disruption.
The exhibition unfolded across a series of thematic spaces, guiding visitors through defining moments in the paper’s past — from its literary golden age to its role in political debate and its transition into the digital era. Particular attention was paid to the newspaper’s long association with prominent writers and intellectuals, underscoring the close relationship between journalism and cultural life in France.
Beyond the displays, the program extended into live journalism. Public editorial meetings, panel discussions and film screenings invited audiences to engage directly with editors, writers and media figures, turning the exhibition into a forum for debate about the future of the press and freedom of expression.
Hosted at the Grand Palais, the setting itself reinforced the exhibition’s ambition: to place journalism firmly within the country’s cultural heritage. While the exhibition has now concluded, the bicentennial celebrations continue through special publications and broadcasts, reaffirming Le Figaro’s place in France’s public life — and the enduring relevance of a free and questioning press in an age of rapid change.
