Mark Zuckerberg's Fwd.us in heated controversy over political ads

Mark Zuckerberg is being unfriended by progressives angered by television ads from his political advocacy group Fwd.us that praise lawmakers for supporting the expansion of the Keystone XL oil pipeline and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Their ire is being directed at the billionaire founder and chief executive of Facebook with a protest planned for May 1 at the company's Menlo Park (CA) headquarters shortly before the company releases its first-quarter earnings.

The TV ad campaign is designed to give political cover to vulnerable conservatives back home to rally support for comprehensive immigration reform. But controversy generated by the ads could become a problem for Zuckerberg and Facebook. Though none of the ads suggest that Zuckerberg or Facebook support these policies, that distinction may be lost on the general public. "Years and years ago, Michael Jordan was asked why he was not endorsing a Democratic candidate for senator in North Carolina. He said: 'Republicans buy shoes, too.' One of the biggest obstacles for a business leader considering political involvement is the potential impact it would have on his client base," said Dan Schnur, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at USC. "Zuckerberg’s primary goal is to have immigration reform, and this is a very savvy way of making that happen. But invariably there is going to be people who don’t understand and the inevitable result is going to be this type of press fire."