Zuckerberg apologises for dividing people with Facebook

Facebook founder and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has begged for forgiveness for the way his work is used to divide people.

He made the apology in a Facebook posting marking the end of Yom Kippur, the Jewish holiday of atonement.

For the ways my work was used to divide people rather than bring us together, I ask forgiveness and I will work to do better, Zuckerberg said in the post.

He did not refer to specific issues in the message, which comes as Facebook and other technology companies are under increased scrutiny amid a US investigation into potential Russian involvement in the 2016 US Presidential election campaign.

Facebook has launched an overhaul of how it handles paid political advertisements, after US lawmakers threatened to regulate the world's largest social network over secretive ads that run during election campaigns.