Former Facebook staffers denounce Zuckerberg stance on Trump posts

Facebook's current approach, they say, "is not a noble stand for freedom. It is incoherent, and worse, it is cowardly"

Nearly three dozen former employees from Facebook's early days on Wednesday blasted Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg's decision not to act against incendiary posts by US President Donald Trump as "cowardly" and a "betrayal" of company ideals.

The open letter, initially reported by the New York Times, deepened a crisis facing Facebook's leadership team, who had to defend their decision at a tense all-hands meeting the day prior following an employee walkout over the issue.

Criticism of Zuckerberg's hands-off approach to speech by political leaders crescendoed last week, after rival social network Twitter began putting warning labels on several Trump tweets