Mark Hamill Quits Facebook

Star Wars icon Mark Hamill has just become one with the Force and faded away from Facebook. Hamill apparently had a major problem with a new New York Times article, which broke down Facebook’s continued stance on not banning political misinformation and smears from being posted on its platform. The subject has been a hotly-debated one going into the 2020 Presidential election, and Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg’s reluctance to take a strict stance against political propaganda has definitely rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. Well, if the reactions to Mark Hamill’s announcement of leaving Facebook are any indication, others could be following suit…

Like a true Jedi, Mark Hamill threw shade at Zuckerberg and Facebook by taking to Twitter to announce that he was ghosting Facebook:

“So disappointed that #MarkZuckerberg values profit more than truthfulness that I’ve decided to delete my @Facebook
account. I know this is a big “Who Cares?” for the world at large, but I’ll sleep better at night. #PatriotismOverProfits” —Mark Hamill

Let’s just set aside the obvious debate here, about whether handing Twitter a win over Facebook is truly a “win” at all for society. That would just get messy. At the very least, it’s good to see Hamill using his celebrity to call attention to something that is, at its core, quite an important discussion in modern society. Social media has had a direct influence on the course of society in the last decade – including the outcomes of political processes across the world. There’s legitimate question as to what these social media companies are allowing on their platforms, and why. Permitting purposefully false or misleading information into social media feeds – with the purpose of influencing public opinion in key areas – is what used to be known as propaganda, in some places.

Mark Hamill has never been shy about voicing his socio-political views – whether it’s taking specific political leaders to task, or US policy and practices as a whole. It kind of goes with the territory of being an iconic representation of democracy triumph over imperial rule.

Mark Hamill currently stars in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which is now out in theaters.