Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended freedom of expression in a speech at Georgetown University, to the extent of saying:

We don't fact-check political ads. We don't do this to help politicians, but because we think people should be able to see for themselves what politicians are saying. And if content is newsworthy, we also won't take it down even if it would otherwise conflict with many of our standards.

Reactions to his speech varied, with support from some for defending free speech, and criticism from others for letting 'politicians lie in ads'.

Zuckerberg also used the situation in China as an example, saying that 'Facebook had tried and failed to reach agreement with the Chinese government over Internet censorship and government access to users' personal data'.