Mark Zuckerberg reacts to a NYT report on Facebook promoting positive stories about itself by arguing that his surfboard isn't 'electric'

• The New York Times reported that Facebook promoted positive stories about itself on users' news feeds.
• Mark Zuckerberg refuted a line in the report that said he rode an "electric surfboard" in a July video.
• Zuckerberg said the surfboard was not electric, and that he was pumping it with his legs.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg reacted somewhat bizarrely to a report in The New York Times that claimed he approved a project that pushed pro-Facebook stories into users' news feeds.

In a Facebook post, Zuckerberg focused on a line from the report that mentioned a video he posted on July 4. The Times report said the video showed him riding an "electric surfboard" while flying the US flag.

The board wasn't electric, Zuckerberg said.

"Look, it's one thing for the media to say false things about my work, but it's crossing the line to say I'm riding an electric surfboard when that video clearly shows a hydrofoil that I'm pumping with my own legs," Zuckerberg wrote Tuesday.

A post shared by Mark Zuckerberg (@zuck)

While some electric hydrofoil surfboards carry motors, manual hydrofoils are powered by the rider pumping their legs.

Zuckerberg has ridden electric hydrofoils. Lift Foils, a company that makes electric hydrofoil surfboards, told Insider in July 2020 that Zuckerberg owned its $12,000 electric hydrofoil surfboard after he was photographed riding one while on vacation in Hawaii.

Zuckerberg did not specify in his latest Facebook post what "false things" he thought The Times had published in its report, and Facebook did not immediately respond when contacted by Insider.

Facebook spokesperson Joe Osborne refuted The Times' news feed reporting in a Twitter thread. "There is zero change in the News Feed ranking. This is a test for an informational unit clearly marked as coming from Facebook. It's not the first of its kind, and is similar to corporate responsibility initiatives people see in other technology and consumer products," Osborne said in a statement.

The New York Times reported that the news-feed project, codenamed "Project Amplify," was first proposed at a meeting in January, citing one source who was present at the meeting. In total, the publication cited six current and former employees in its reporting.

Osborne said in his Twitter thread that the meeting never happened.

Three sources told The Times that Zuckerberg approved the project. Two sources said Facebook tested the project in August in three US cities following Zuckerberg's approval.

The Times also reported that in January, Facebook's communications team created a document outlining a new, less apologetic media approach for Zuckerberg. The Information previously reported on the same document.

The Times' article came after a series of reports in The Wall Street Journal that cited internal Facebook documents. The documents showed the company was aware of numerous problems, including the spread of misinformation and Instagram's impact on the mental health of teenage girls, per the reports.

Facebook's Vice President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg said in a statement on Sunday The Journal reports contained "deliberate mischaracterizations" of the company.