03 June, 2017
There was a proposal, which was denied, from two institutional investors asking Facebook to publish a report on "public policy issues associated with managing fake news".
The Arjuna measure, which was introduced with another fund, comes as Facebook has come under fire following the 2016 USA presidential and congressional elections over fake news stories trending on the social media platform.
A move by activist investors in Facebook to require greater transparency on how the social media company is battling fake news on the site has been blocked by CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
The company has advised shareholders to vote against the Arjuna and Baldwin Brothers proposal.
At their annual shareholders meeting, five proposals were offered covering their major gripes, which also included the company's top-heavy structure, The Washington Post reported.
The chances of the proposal getting enough votes to pass are tiny because CEO Mark Zuckerberg controls a majority of the votes by virtue of owning multiple-voting shares.
"To be clear, we are talking about content that is posted and disseminated with the intent to mislead, not the mainstream media, which the president refers to as fake news", Natasha Lamb of Arjuna Capital said, the Post reported.
She added that Facebook needs to take clear action on the issue or risk alienating its audience.
Lamb went on to say that Facebook is put at a competitive disadvantage by not showing leadership in this area, noting how tech companies like Intel and Apple have conducted in-depth reports to assess pay equity.
Another group, SumofUs, had filed a petition to remove Zuckerberg as Facebook's chairman, arguing that his current role gives him far too much power.
In an open question-and-answer session, the Reverend Jesse Jackson asked Zuckerberg to develop an independent advisory commission to address the growing trend of Facebook users sharing violent videos.
Aside from fake news, Zuckerberg also addressed a few other topics from shareholders.
"We need Internet platforms to step up and acknowledge their corporate responsibilities", Frerichs said in a statement. "That does influence how people think of themselves, see the world, the decisions that they make", she said.
Mr Zuckerberg said the firm expects to invest more in artificial technology, but the technology is not "100% there yet".
But, echoing previous statements on the subject, he asked for patience when it comes to finding a solution. "That's what we want on Facebook", she said.
