Star Wars star Mark Hamill quits Facebook, accuses Mark Zuckerberg of putting profits over 'truthfulness'

Jessica Guynn | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Critic: Facebook political ad controls not enough Despite escalating pressure ahead of the 2020 election, Facebook reaffirmed its freewheeling policy on political ads Thursday, saying it won’t ban them, won’t fact-check them and won’t limit how they can be targeted to specific groups of people. (Jan. 8)

Is the force with Mark Zuckerberg?

Not according to Mark Hamill, best known for playing Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars films.

Hamill says he has quit the social media giant because it has given itself over to the dark side, putting profits before “truthfulness.” Ahead of the 2020 presidential election, Facebook has been blasted by critics who say the company should do more to limit political ads spreading falsehoods.

Using the hashtag #PatriotismOverProfits, the Facebook rebel turned to Twitter to announce the news, linking to a news article on Facebook’s decision not to police misinformation in political ads. Twitter has banned political ads altogether.

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“I know this is a big ‘Who Cares?’ for the world at large, but I'll sleep better at night,” Hamill tweeted.

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

Zuckerberg has defended Facebook’s freewheeling policy on political ads as a matter of free speech.

"What I believe is that in a democracy it’s really important that people can see for themselves what politicians are saying, so they can make their open judgments," Zuckerberg said during a recent interview with "CBS This Morning."

Several hundred Facebook employees noted their disagreement in a letter to Zuckerberg, in which they ask him to reconsider.

Facebook director of product management Rob Leathern said last week: “People should be able to hear from those who wish to lead them, warts and all, and that what they say should be scrutinized and debated in public.”