The Facebook headquarters’ mail facility in Menlo Park, California was evacuated Monday after a mail sorting machine detected the presence of the poison sarin. Further tests were negative for sarin or any other toxin.
Two workers were suspected of being exposed to the toxin and were checked by doctors during the evacuation. No one was injured in the incident.
Sarin is a colorless, odorless liquid that destroys the nervous system and eventually stops breathing, leading to death. It has been used as a chemical weapon in Syria and other places around the world.
Symptoms of sarin poisoning appear only seconds after exposure and include nausea, vomiting, headache, watery eyes, runny nose, and coughing. Mild exposure is usually treatable.
Emergency Response
“We evacuated four nearby buildings and began a thorough investigation in coordination with local authorities,” a Facebook spokesman said in an emailed statement. “Authorities have confirmed test results were negative for any potentially dangerous substance and the buildings have been cleared for repopulation. Our rigorous security and safety procedures worked as intended to limit exposure and keep our people safe.”
The Menlo Park Fire District responded to the incident around 11 a.m. Monday but was unable to find any sarin or other toxic substance. It is thought to have been a false positive.
CBS reported that the mail was retested twice after the initial detection, with one positive and one negative result. Eventually, all the buildings were cleared and work resumed.
Big Tech Controversy
Facebook recently came under fire from free speech advocates after it announced bans on users that it called “dangerous.” But some have accused Facebook of using its power as the biggest social media company in the world to silence opposing political voices. In its own defence, Facebook insists it is being fair and that it only wants to prevent fake news from influencing its users.
Some politicians have even called Facebook a monopoly and may be seeking action to have it broken up to limit its power. Earlier this year, Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren promised to break up Big Tech companies should she become president.
Many websites have seen their traffic decline as a result of Facebook changing its algorithms in a way that seems to favor certain sites over others. Conservative commentators have accused Facebook’s actions of being tantamount to censorship of their ideas and are even exploring a Facebook alternative that is anti-censorship.
Ahead of the 2020 presidential election, reports have circulated that Big Tech giants Facebook, Twitter, and Google are working to prevent another Donald Trump victory through censorship and shutting down conservative pages. In particular, a recent undercover video published by Project Veritas drew more attention to Google’s “political agenda.”
Last week, Trump suggested taking action against Big Tech for the alleged bias and censorship. “We should be suing Google and Facebook and all that, which perhaps we will,” he told Fox Business by phone. Twitter did not escape criticism, either. “Twitter is just terrible, what they do,” Trump said, suggesting the social media company was making it difficult for users to follow him.
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