Article snippet: I knew the big Mark Zuckerberg speech was coming. It always does. Scandals involving Facebook tend to follow a well-worn pattern: Throughout the social network’s short history, when the company has felt pummeled by users or lawmakers or shareholders over one of the dozens of controversies that have plagued its rise, there comes a moment when the clamor reaches a fever pitch. You begin to wonder why on earth they aren’t doing more. Can’t they see how deep they are in it? Just then, Mr. Zuckerberg will issue a blog post, and these days, a live video, too — as he did on Thursday, in a short address on Facebook’s role in Russia’s interference of last year’s presidential election. To a cynic, this week’s message, like others Mr. Zuckerberg has issued, might sound like puffery. After all, he and his top lieutenants — especially Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer — are as meticulous in stewarding their own image as they are in managing a sprawling multibillion-dollar corporation. Mr. Zuckerberg, in particular, has come to see his own role in guiding Facebook’s community, and the trust the community places in him, as crucial to the fate of the corporation. So when the heat from American lawmakers regarding ads placed by Russian trolls on Facebook began to rise, Mr. Zuckerberg had no option to ignore it; he had to say something. But these messages aren’t just show. Inside Facebook, Mr. Zuckerberg’s exhortations carry the weight of God. That’s why the deta... Link to the full article to read more