Mark Zuckerberg slams Facebook employees for writing 'All lives matter' to spite colleagues

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg castigated employees in a company memo for rejecting their colleagues' attempts to express solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, Gizmodo reported.

Zuckerberg said in the private memo that employees have been crossing out the phrase "Black lives matter" on the company's signature wall inside its Menlo Park, California headquarters and writing "All lives matter" in its place. Supporters of the movement have said on several occasions that the alternate phrase is used to diminish the effects of police violence against black communities.

"Despite my clear communication at Q&A last week that this was unacceptable, and messages from several other leaders from across the company, this has happened again," Zuckerberg wrote. "I was already very disappointed by this disrespectful behavior before, but after my communication I now consider this malicious as well."

Using the phrase "black lives matter" is not a slight against other communities, he explained, but a request that "the black community also achieves the justice they deserve."

He also argued that crossing any statement off the wall means silencing the author's point of view, which runs counter to the purpose of the wall. As USA Today reported, employees are encouraged to write on the company's walls, chalkboards, or dry-erase message boards.

Zuckerberg also noted that the company is hosting a town hall on March 4 to discuss the movement and other issues concerning the black community. Vox noted that 2 percent of the company's workforce is black.