Two of America's Most Innovative Companies Delete Their Huge Facebook Pages
Despite being one of the leading social media platforms in the world, Facebook has managed to tick off nearly everyone and is facing a potential steep and rapid descent from their perch on high.
Facebook had already angered conservatives through censorship and suppression along ideological lines. But Facebook managed to anger many liberals as well after reports surfaced regarding the Trump campaign’s use of social media data during the election season — which, as an aside, the liberal media had no problem with when former President Obama did the same in 2012.
Now, the hashtag #deletefacebook is beginning to trend on Twitter as people on all sides of the political spectrum have decided they finally had enough with the massive platform and its questionable activities. And it’s not just private individuals either. Two of the nation’s most innovative and popular companies have now taken down their Facebook pages.
According to The Verge, billionaire business owner and innovator Elon Musk joined in on a Twitter thread discussion about deleting Facebook pages and commented sarcastically, “What’s Facebook?”
That prompted one user to issue a dare: “Delete SpaceX page on Facebook if you’re the man?” to which Musk replied, “I didn’t realize there was one. Will do.”
Another user then pulled up a screenshot of the still-active SpaceX page, as well as the page for Tesla, and asked if he would take that down as well, to which Musk replied, “Definitely. Looks lame anyway.”
The Verge reported that both of these pages, which had a combined 2.6 million followers, were eventually taken down.
According to Fast Company, both SpaceX and Tesla were recently honored as being among the most innovative companies of 2017.
SpaceX, which builds rockets and is leading the private market in a joint effort with NASA toward future space travel, was ranked as the third most innovative in the “space” sector. Tesla, which produces high performance luxury electric vehicles, was ranked ninth in innovation in the “transportation” sector.
For what it’s worth, Facebook was also honored in that same collection of innovative companies and ranked sixth overall — ironically for its ad placement algorithms, which utilize the same sort of data mining and targeting that liberals became incensed over when it was discovered it may have benefited Trump’s campaign.
C|NET confirmed that both of the pages for SpaceX and Tesla were taken down from Facebook, and noted that another user in the Twitter thread that started it all had brought up Musk’s Instagram pages for those companies. The Instagram social media network is owned by Facebook, though it operates under separate management.
Musk replied, “Instagram’s probably ok imo, so long as it stays fairly independent. I don’t use FB & never have, so don’t think I’m some kind of martyr or my companies are taking a huge blow. Also, we don’t advertise or pay for endorsements, so … don’t care.”
Instagram’s probably ok imo, so long as it stays fairly independent. I don’t use FB & never have, so don’t think I’m some kind of martyr or my companies are taking a huge blow. Also, we don’t advertise or pay for endorsements, so … don’t care.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 23, 2018
C|NET reached out to Facebook representatives for comment on the development, but they did not respond.
Musk may be correct that his companies won’t take any huge blow from exiting Facebook. However, their departure could signal others to take the step as well which eventually could lead to an avalanche of Facebook page deletions.
Time will tell how this continues to play out, given the increasingly dwindling support for Facebook from people on all sides of the political spectrum.
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