Edited on Jun 28, 2026.
Related: APCO Worldwide Profile · PR Firms Directory.
PR firms — much like law firms — have conflicts of interest and issues they cannot discuss. This is especially true when representing one of the largest companies in the world, Facebook.
In 2015, APCO Worldwide made a public statement on behalf of Facebook — and also criticized the company publicly. Leaving us a little confused. Can one of the world's largest PR firms have it both ways? APCO Worldwide works with clients like Dell, eBay, and international accounts like Sony Africa.
Facebook is not one of the companies listed as clients on APCO's website — or in other disclosure documents — yet, consider The Washington Post's quote:
"After the German minister wrote to Facebook, the company told Bloomberg in a statement through PR firm APCO Worldwide, 'Facebook is no place for racism. Such content clearly violates our community standards, and we would urge people not to try and use our platform to distribute hate speech.'"
The quote comes in the context of photographer Olli Waldhauer, 41, posting a picture of a topless woman and a man holding a racist quote with the caption "One of these people is violating Facebook's policy." As expected, the picture received notice to take it down because it violated Facebook's nudity policy. APCO's PR response came on behalf of needed damage control for Facebook.
And if APCO Worldwide represents Facebook, then this quote by Jim McGregor, Chairman of APCO Worldwide Global Public Affairs, in Vice Magazine critiquing Mark Zuckerberg's dealings in China is odd:
"Zuckerberg is obviously a very accomplished and intelligent individual, but he doesn't seem to have a clue on China. You don't get anywhere by pandering to China. Xi might be fine with you, but most doors are closed. They don't respect you."
The context of this quote comes in the face of increasing battles about censorship in China where Facebook is one of the many foreign social media platforms censored.
The question for APCO is why they represent Facebook on matters concerning censorship, and on the other hand, why they are critical.
Did Vice or the Washington Post get it wrong? Or does APCO not have internal communications in order? Either way, the two quotes make it difficult to understand APCO's relationship to Facebook, and in some ways makes for an unclear PR campaign for Facebook's handling of censorship.
One of the largest privately owned PR firms and strategic communications consultancies in the world, APCO Worldwide operates from headquarters in Washington D.C., with additional major offices in Hong Kong and Belgium. Margery Kraus founded the firm in 1984 and remains active in the role of Executive Chairman. The firm's specialty is reputation and crisis management alongside public affairs, with many of its key people having served in notable government positions.
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
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