Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t need to be ‘liked’

Mark Zuckerberg, founder of the company that invented the like button, says his goal isn’t to be liked — he just wants to be “understood.” 

During the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call, Zuckerberg suggested that he intends to change his tone in order to address the company’s increasingly vocal critics. The CEO said that, in the past, Facebook has prioritized not “offending” people rather than “communicating our principles.” 

“One critique of our approach for much of the last decade was that because we wanted to be liked, we didn’t always communicate our views as clearly because we worried about offending people,” he said during the earnings call. “This led to positive but shallow sentiment towards us and towards the company. My goal for this next decade isn’t to be liked, but to be understood.”

“In order to be trusted, people need to know what you stand for… These positions aren’t always going to be popular, but I think it’s important for us to take these debates head on.”

The CEO’s change of tone comes at a time when the company is facing a backlash on multiple fronts, including its ability to safeguard user privacy and its stance on political ads. The company is also still facing multiple investigations, including an FTC antitrust investigation. 

And some of Facebook and Zuckerberg’s highest-profile critics have been increasingly vocal about their dislike for the company. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently accused the company of being “accomplices” in misleading Americans and Hilary Clinton recently labeled Zuckerberg as “Trumpian” and “authoritarian.” 

But Zuckerberg, who not so long ago had a private dinner with Donald Trump, said he thinks there are still “a lot of people” who agree with him.

“I know that there are a lot of people who agree with these principles, and there are a whole lot more who are open to them and want to see these arguments get made. So expect more of that this year.”

We can’t wait.