Facebook’s Zuckerberg brushes off resignation calls over Definers scandal

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has fought back against calls for the social media giant to change up its leadership, as requests for resignation letters mount against both him and Facebook operations chief Sheryl Sandberg.

Zuckerberg rejected renewed criticism against the company in an interview with CNN late last night, where he took it upon himself to defend both his and Sandberg's reputation.

"Sheryl is a really important part of this company and is leading a lot of the efforts to address a lot of the biggest issues that we have," he said.

"She's been a really important partner to me for 10 years. I'm really proud of the work we’ve done together and I hope that we work together for many decades to come."

Refuting calls for him to step down as the company's chairman, he added: "That's not the plan… I'm not currently thinking that that makes sense."

This is the second time Zuckerberg has faced such criticism in recent months, after being hit with similar pressures from investors last month. Shareholders have said Zuckerberg holds too much sway while acting as both chairman and chief executive of Facebook, in addition to owning a 60 per cent stake in the firm.

The interview followed allegations published by the New York Times last week which suggested the company had attempted to ignore and deny Russian interference on the social media site. It also uncovered Facebook's hiring of Republican opposition research firm Deniers, which the paper said was used to distribute critical stories about its rivals.

"A lot of the criticism around the biggest issues has been fair, but I do think that if we are going to be real, there is this bigger picture as well," he said in the interview.

"We have a different world view than some of the folks who are covering us."

Sandberg has shouldered much of the blame over Facebook's use of Deniers, despite being adamant she was not aware of the company's relationship with the PR firm before the New York Times went to print.

Facebook's current head of public policy and communications Elliot Schrage was revealed to have admitted responsibility for hiring Definers in an internal memo to staff, published by Techcrunch this morning.

Schrage is set to step down from his role later this year, with former UK deputy prime minister Nick Clegg replacing him in the company's Menlo Park headquarters.