2 San Francisco Supervisors Join Movement to Remove Facebook CEO Zuckerberg Name From City Hospital
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Two San Francisco supervisors announced Thursday that they support a growing movement to remove Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's name from the city-operated public hospital.
Now typically called Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, the institution was formally renamed Priscilla Chan & Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center in 2015 after the couple donated $75 million to the hospital's foundation.
Supervisor Gordon Mar introduced a resolution co-authored by Supervisor Matt Haney to condemn the naming of the hospital after Zuckerberg.
"Facebook's policies do not reflect San Francisco's values and commitment to affirming and upholding human rights, dignity and social and racial justice," Mar said in a statement. "We want to put our city on record as standing with the organizations working to stop the rampant spread of hatred and disinformation on Facebook and the harm it has on our society."
The resolution also urges city departments to establish clear standards to ensure that naming rights for public institutions and properties go only to organizations whose practices align with the city's values.
The renewed push to remove the name comes as Facebook faces accusations that its platform spreads misinformation and hate speech. The accusations have cost the company advertisers and led employees to stage a virtual walkout last month.
The movement to remove Zuckerberg's name, in the works for years, is backed by nurses and groups like the San Francisco Bay Area Protest Facebook coalition. In 2018, Supervisor Aaron Peskin also proposed that Zuckerberg's name be removed.
Haney said, "San Francisco General Hospital is one of the most important institutions in our city. It is a place of care, healing and innovation, and it should have a name that everyone who works there or is a patient there can be proud of. As advertisers leave Facebook in droves due to inaction in the face of hate speech, and employees stage walkouts, it frankly does not make sense for San Francisco's public hospital to continue to hold Mr. Zuckerberg's name. We deeply appreciate the original donation, but it shouldn't have ever come with permanent advertising rights on this public hospital that belongs to the people of San Francisco."
"So far Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook have resisted even simple reforms that would protect the public interest and support our democracy," said Andrea Buffa of the San Francisco Bay Area Protest Facebook Coalition.
"With an election right around the corner, we all need to put pressure on Facebook to make real changes to protect our democracy. Passing this resolution will put San Francisco on the right side of history."
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