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Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg is not planning to run for president of the US, the tech entrepreneur has said.
Recent rumours have suggested that the social network chief was positioning himself for a future run for the White House. However, when asked about plans to run by BuzzFeed, Zuckerberg gave a clear response.
“No,” he said.
“I’m focused on building our community at Facebook and working on the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative,” he added, referring to the foundation (CZI) he and his wife Priscilla founded in 2015.
Rumours of a future run for office were sparked at the beginning of the year when the Facebook founder said one of his challenges for 2017 was to visit the 30 US states he had never visited before.
When added alongside other recent moves that include hiring a former White House photographer, as well as also hiring a former presidential campaign manager to help with his charitable works, and adding a clause to a Facebook stock restructuring deal that refers to potentially serving in office, it perhaps isn’t surprising suggestions have been made in parts of the media that he might be considering a run and is sounding out potential support.
Mark Zuckerberg – The first state I’m visiting this year… | Facebook
Some also claimed that Zuckerberg’s notable absence from then President-elect Trump’s infamous tech summit in New York in December could have been to keep him politically neutral ahead of any future campaigns of his own.
Some more political minds are beginning to appear around Zuckerberg. David Plouffe, Barack Obama’s campaign manager in 2008, recently joined the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
And that Facebook stock restructuring deal saw the introduction of a clause that “serving in a government position or office” for two years did not constitute a voluntary resignation from the company.
But as Zuckerberg’s response to BuzzFeed suggests, the social network boss could just be preparing to become more vocal on certain causes related to Facebook and the CZI.
He was quick to jump to the defence of Facebook in the wake of the US election when some suggested the site’s alleged base as a platform for the circulation of fake news had influenced the result.
Zuckerberg has also said that as part of his tour of US states he aims to have “visited and met people in every state in the US by the end of the year”.
“My work is about connecting the world and giving everyone a voice,” he wrote on Facebook at the start of the year.
“I want to personally hear more of those voices this year. It will help me lead the work at Facebook and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative so we can make the most positive impact as the world enters an important new period.”
Some are arguing that this sounds increasingly political, but Zuckerberg is maintaining that Facebook remains his focus.
