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Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has claimed that the platform was ‘bullied’ by the Biden administration into removing specific COVID-19 posts during the pandemic and noted his regret for having complied with these orders. In a letter dated August 26 to Jim Jordan, the chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary, Zuckerberg said that his company was pressured by senior officials in 2021 to censor information, including humor, satire, and fake news regarding COVID 19.
Zuckerberg admitted that it is true that the final call to censor content rests with Meta; however, some of those decisions made during that period wouldn’t be made again in light of new knowledge and further information. When asked whether he thinks the government pressure was wrong, Zuckerberg replied, I think it was wrong, and I wish we were more vocal about it,” while, at the same time, stressing that he stands for the principle that they should not give in to pressure and dilute the standards of their content.
In the same letter, Zuckerberg also discussed how, in 2020, he and his team decided to lower the ranking of a Russian disinformation story about Hunter Biden’s laptop, which at the time was heavily criticized. He said that change has, however, occurred in the policies to avoid such circumstances occurring in the future.
Zuckerberg’s disclosures have elicited a strong response, especially from proponents of decentralization and freedom of speech. Gabor Gurbacs, the Director of Digital Asset Strategy at VanEck, tweeted the letter on X, stating that individuals who coerced media companies into bowing down and censoring their content should be prosecuted. “The government doesn’t control speech,” he added. “The earth is not a prison; they are not our jailers.”
US Senator Mike Lee also chimed in, claiming that it was regretful that Zuckerberg’s apologies had not come any earlier when they could have made the difference. However, Charlie Kirk, founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, encouraged people to express skepticism towards Zuckerberg while being optimistic and praying that he could become a free speech warrior.
Another tech billionaire, Elon Musk, also welcomed the letter from Zuckerberg and said that it was “a step in the right direction.” Musk recalled that the purpose of the social platform is not to censor people but to support all the viewpoints associated with legal actions, while comparing the actions of Facebook during the pandemic.
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