- Mark Hamill announced he would delete his Facebook account in a tweet on Sunday.
- The "Star Wars" star said he was protesting Facebook's decision to allow political ads that include false statements or misinformation.
- Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has defended the decision as an effort to protect free speech.
- Now that he's deleting Facebook, Hamill wrote, "I'll sleep better at night."
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Mark Hamill is rebelling against Facebook's social media empire.
The "Star Wars" star said in a tweet on Sunday that he would delete his account on the social network to protest Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's refusal to budge on Facebook's policy that allows political ads that make false statements.
So disappointed that #MarkZuckerberg values profit more than truthfulness that I've decided to delete my @Facebook account. I know this is a big "Who Cares?" for the world at large, but I'll sleep better at night. #PatriotismOverProfits🇲🇾>💰https://t.co/seb2eJMTo6
— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) January 12, 2020
Facebook exempts politicians from its fact-checking policies, allowing political ads to include inaccuracies, misinformation, and propaganda. Zuckerberg has staunchly defended his site's practice, arguing that it protects free speech on the platform.
Hamill linked to a news article reporting on Facebook's stance and accused Zuckerberg of valuing "profit more than truthfulness."
Facebook's policy diverges from other social media platforms that have attempted to curb the spread of political misinformation. Twitter has completely banned political ads, while Google has said it would remove political ads that include false statements.
Older Americans like Hamill, who is 68, constitute the majority of Facebook users— more than half of Facebook users were born before 1980, and the platform is seeing slow but steady decline among people born after 1996.
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