Truth Matters

Why I’m Not On Facebook

I’m no longer on social media platforms that Mark Zuckerberg owns: Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. I made that decision while on my road trip honeymoon back in October, and I’m still proud of it. While I have no desire to persuade anyone to do the same, I thought I’d share why I deleted the accounts mentioned above, primarily because I’m part of a collective (kärnl moon) that uses social media to connect with our following.

In October, Senator Elizabeth Warren purposely ran a fake political ad on Facebook to prove a point: The tech company is doing a faulty job managing misinformation on its platform.

We’re not talking about accidentally forgetting to turn off the porch light level of faultiness. Zuckerberg and his team consistently decide to allow false information on their platforms.

Truth is essential.

Many of us form our beliefs — make decisions — using truths we’ve internalized and often share with others; I’m doing a version of that right now. When falsities are accepted as truth, we enter dangerous territory, especially nowadays, when “experts” spend hours debating whether scientifically-proven occurrences like climate change are actual. It leaves society in a weird limbo, which can be dangerous because people make decisions based on what they believe to be true: who to vote for, whether to vaccinate their children, what they eat, etc.

Zuckerberg and his team haven’t only ruffled my feathers because they met with white…