Mark Zuckerberg apologized for Facebook's role dividing people in a Yom Kippur message vowing to 'do better'

Mark Zuckerberg publicly apologized for Facebook's negative effects, posting a message to mark the Jewish Yom Kippur holiday on Saturday after a year in which the social network has come under fire for spreading misinformation.

"For the ways my work was used to divide people rather than bring us together, I ask forgiveness and I will work to do better," Zuckerberg wrote in a post on his Facebook page. 

Saturday night marked the end of Yom Kippur, the Jewish "day of atonement" and Judaism's holiest day of the year in which it is customary to fast, to reflect on the past year and to make amends for negative behavior. 

Zuckerberg did not specify how Facebook was used to "divide" in his message. The 2-billion member social network has been in the spotlight since the 2016 US presidential elections as the spread of fake news articles and political ads bought by Russia-linked groups are believed to have used Facebook to gain momentum.

Here is Zuckerberg's full message:

 

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