Board committee endorses resolution condemning Zuckerberg27s hospital naming; public split on philanthropy vs. principle

The Government Audit and Oversight Committee voted on Dec. 3 to recommend a resolution condemning the naming of San Francisco General Hospital after Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg and to send the item to the full Board of Supervisors.

Chair Supervisor Gordon Marr, coauthor of the resolution with Supervisor Matt Haney, said the hospital "belongs to the people" and argued that Facebook27s practices have harmed public health communication and civic discourse. "This hospital belongs to the people whose health, wellness, and in some cases lives and livelihoods, are imperiled by the decisions made by the man it's named after," Marr said.

Supervisor Haney, echoing nurses and staff, said frontline workers deserve a public-institution name that reflects the community and the public nature of the hospital. Public comment filled the record: nurses, hospital staff and community activists urged the Board to restore "San Francisco General" and criticized Facebook's role spreading misinformation; other callers, including the hospital foundation CEO, cautioned against measures that might chill philanthropy and stressed the hospital27s need for donor support during the pandemic.

Multiple callers from advocacy coalitions and front-line hospital staff recounted workplace experience and research they said connected platform misinformation with public-health harm. Activists with the Protest Facebook Coalition urged the Board to join national efforts to pressure Facebook. Supporters of rescinding the naming said the City paid most construction costs through bonds and that naming rights should not override public stewardship.

Chair Marr moved and the committee approved amendments and recommended the resolution, which will be considered by the full Board. The committee vote was unanimous among its members.