Zuckerberg to make case to conservatives

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg plans to meet Wednesday afternoon with prominent figures on the right as he looks to head off fears that an anti-conservative bias skews content on the company’s social platform.

The guest list to the closely-watched confab at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. has taken shape ever since Zuckerberg said last week that he wanted to meet with “leading conservatives" after a report alleged that editors for the trending topics section of the website has not included stories and sources popular on the right.

Donald TrumpDonald TrumpTrump, GOP agree to raise funds together Report: Trump to be deposed in June over restaurant lawsuit Trade ministers working to implement Pacific deal MORE

Bennett will be joined by figures with ties to the Washington establishment, including former White House Press Secretary Dana Perino and Arthur Brooks, the president of the think tank the American Enterprise Institute. Heritage Foundation President Jim DeMint and Tea Party Patriots CEO Jenny Beth Martin will also attend.

Radio host and The Blaze founder Glenn Beck, CNN commentator S.E. Cupp and Washington Examiner columnist and pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson will represent the conservative media.

Erick Erickson, best known as the former editor for the conservative site RedState, said he had also been invited to the meeting but wasn’t able to make it, and noted he had felt fairly treated by Facebook in the past. Jonathan Garthwaite, general manager for RedState and other conservative websites owned by the same parent company, will attend.

Some conservatives were invited but have refused to participate. Matt Schlapp, who chairs the group that hosts the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, said in a statement that it wasn’t interested and that it looked as though Facebook thinks “they can avoid having to answer for their actions by hosting conservative luminaries at their state-of-the-art headquarters.” Conservative website Breitbart said it similarly would not accept Facebook’s invitation, though a company spokesperson denies that representatives from the website were ever invited.

The meeting is the highest-profile part of Facebook's response to the controversy over the trending topics section. Though it is less prominent than the company's signature News Feed, it nonetheless drives web traffic to stories it features. 

A Gizmodo report last week quoted a former editor for the section as saying that their colleagues had ignored stories popular with conservatives — leading many to accuse the company, which has long maintained its political neutrality, of bias.

The controversy was complicated by the fact that Zuckerberg has not always personally espoused positions adopted by conservatives. He is an outspoken supporter of immigration reform, while Trump is a hardliner on the issue. That has put them at odds several times over the last year. 

In April, the Facebook CEO responded to the candidate’s plan to block all Muslims from entering the United States by putting out a statement in support of the Muslim community. Trump’s immigration platform, meanwhile, still attacks his one-time opponent Sen. Marco RubioMarco RubioMcCaskill flubs while deflecting from tight KY Dem race Zuckerberg to make case to conservatives Standoff in GOP over Zika funding MORE (R-Fla.) in August as “Mark Zuckerberg’s personal Senator.” 

Zuckerberg is bringing a lieutenant with right-wing bona fides to the meeting. Joel Kaplan, now Facebook’s vice president of global public policy, was a top aide in the George W. Bush administration and was hired by the company in part to improve its relationships with Republicans. 

Posts by Kaplan and Zuckerberg over the last week offer clues to the defense the company will offer at the meeting.

Kaplan touted the way conservative presidential candidates like neurosurgeon Ben Carson and Sen. Ted CruzTed CruzTrump retweets praise from followers as Fox interview airs McCaskill flubs while deflecting from tight KY Dem race Zuckerberg to make case to conservatives MORE (R-Texas) used Facebook to boost their campaigns, and noted how many successful conservative media properties use the platform to attract an audience.

“I have heard the claims of bias from friends and colleagues,” he said. “But that is not the truth of Facebook — and I want to share how we ensure we're a home for all voices, including conservatives.”

Zuckerberg, for his part, says that the conversation over the allegations “gets to the core of everything Facebook is and everything I want it to be.”

“I want to have a direct conversation about what Facebook stands for and how we can be sure our platform stays as open as possible,” he said last week of the meeting.

One conservative with roots in online campaigning said that he hoped Zuckerberg would go beyond the reassurances in his post.

“We know conservatives use Facebook, we know conservatives are on the platform,” said Vincent Harris, a digital consultant who has worked for Cruz and Sen. Rand PaulRand PaulDem senator blocks push to tie 'gun ban' to spending bill Lexington mayor wins primary, will face Rand Paul Zuckerberg to make case to conservatives MORE (R-Ky.) who is not attending the meeting.

“He needs to really be transparent about what this screw-up was with the trending topics section, if there was screw-up, explain to us how these contractors that are making large scale editorial decisions are working with Facebook, and make the people in the room feel comfortable that Facebook doesn’t have an axe to grind.” 

Many going to the meeting have said they are hopeful it will be productive.

“There are over 1 billion active Facebook users across the globe, living under both free and oppressive regimes. It’s important that they get all the information they need to tackle the challenges and controversies of their daily lives,” said DeMint, a former U.S. Senator, in a post on Facebook. “That’s why I’m hoping for a fruitful discussion at Facebook. Stay tuned.”