A senior Facebook engineer who penned a controversial memo criticizing the company’s workplace culture as a “political monoculture that’s intolerant of different views” is reportedly leaving the social networking giant.
Brian Amerige’s “We Have a Problem With Political Diversity” sparked a firestorm of controversy at the company when he posted it to Facebook’s internal message board in August.
“We claim to welcome all perspectives, but are quick to attack — often in mobs — anyone who presents a view that appears to be in opposition to left-leaning ideology,” he wrote.
Now, two months later, he’s leaving the company, according to a Business Insider report late Wednesday.
“These problems can be solved — just not by me, not any more, at least,” Amerige told co-workers in an internal message seen by Business Insider. “I care too deeply about our role in supporting free expression and intellectual diversity to even whole-heartedly attempt the product stuff anymore, and that’s how I know it’s time to go.
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“I’ve been thinking about this for almost a year, and though a certain leak delayed me a bit, I know it’s time for me to move on,” he wrote. “I’m not leaving because ‘it’s time for something new.'”
His last day at the company is reportedly Friday.
A Facebook spokesman confirmed Amerige’s departure, saying the company “wish[ed] Brian all the best.”
Amerige’s departure comes amid suspicion among some conservatives toward Silicon Valley, who accuse companies such as Google, Facebook and Twitter of liberal bias and suppression of conservative voices. In August, President Donald Trump accused Google of doctoring its search results for “Trump News” to show only negative coverage about him — a charge Google denied.
Facebook has drawn flak before for the perception it reflects a liberal bias. During congressional hearings in April, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg faced questions about whether the social network was curbing conservative points of view, especially as personified by the media personalities Diamond and Silk.
Originally published at 7:45 p.m. PT
Updated at 10:25 p.m. PT to include Facebook statement.
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