The person in charge of Facebook’s Trending Topics section, which has come under fire in recent days over accusations that the social media platform deliberately suppressed news articles that were published on conservative websites, is a maximum donor to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.
Tom Stocky, Facebook’s vice president of product management, issued a response to the report that was first published by Gizmodo by claiming that he has not found any evidence that the accusations within the report are true.
"My team is responsible for Trending Topics, and I want to address today’s reports alleging that Facebook contractors manipulated Trending Topics to suppress stories of interest to conservatives," Stocky said in a Facebook post. "We take these reports extremely seriously, and have found no evidence that the anonymous allegations are true."
"Facebook is a platform for people and perspectives from across the political spectrum. There are rigorous guidelines in place for the review team to ensure consistency and neutrality," he continued. "These guidelines do not permit the suppression of political perspectives. Nor do they permit the prioritization of one viewpoint over another or one news outlet over another. These guidelines do not prohibit any news outlet from appearing in Trending Topics."
Stocky appears to be a major backer of Hillary Clinton. He contributed $2,700 to Hillary for America on October 26, 2015, Federal Election Commission records show. This is the maximum amount that can be given by an individual during a primary.
Stocky is not the only Facebook employee that has given generously to Clinton’s campaign this election cycle.
The Hill reported Tuesday that Facebook employees have given $114,000 in contributions to Clinton’s campaign, far more than any other presidential candidate.