Mark Zuckerberg says recent wave of terror attacks were designed to spread 'fear and distrust'

'Each of these attacks was different but all had a common thread,' says the Facebook founder

The New York-born tech star came under some scrutiny yesterday after Facebook’s Safety Check feature accidently alerted users who were hundreds of miles away from the tragic suicide bombings in Lahore in Pakistan (REUTERS/Robert Galbraith )

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has expressed his distress at the recent wave of terror attacks facing the world, arguing that we must resist this violence with “understanding and empathy”.

In a lengthy post on his Facebook page, the 31-year-old tech giant drew parallels between the recent attacks in Pakistan, Turkey and Belgium, arguing that they were intended to disseminate fear and suspicion.

“Each of these attacks was different, but all had a common thread: they were carried out with a goal to spread fear and distrust, and turn members of a community against each other,” the CEO of Facebook said.

“I believe the only sustainable way to fight back against those who seek to divide us is to create a world where understanding and empathy can spread faster than hate, and where every single person in every country feels connected and cared for and loved. That's the world we can and must build together,” he added.

Facebook came under scrutiny after its Safety Check feature accidently alerted users who were hundreds of miles away from the tragic suicide bombings in Lahore in Pakistan. Those as far away as the UK and the US received the message.

Since then the company have apologised for the technical glitch. “We have activated Safety Check in Lahore. We apologise to anyone who mistakenly received a notification outside of Pakistan and are working to resolve the issue,” said a Facebook spokesperson.

The safety check feature also prompted criticism for choosing to implement the tool for the Paris attacks but not a deadly bomb blast which killed at least 43 people in Beirut the day afterwards.