Facebook’s CEO revealed all.
In a letter to the House Judiciary Committee on Monday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg accused the Biden administration of pressuring his company to “censor” content on Facebook related to COVID-19 and Hunter Biden’s laptop. Zuckerberg expressed regret over not being more vocal against this alleged government interference.
Zuckerberg’s letter, addressed to Rep. Jim Jordan, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, criticized the administration’s attempts to influence content moderation. He stated that Meta faced significant pressure from senior Biden administration officials to suppress posts about COVID-19, including satire and humor, and that there was notable frustration from officials when Meta did not comply.
He also reflected on Meta’s handling of a New York Post story about Hunter Biden’s laptop, which was flagged as Russian disinformation by the FBI before the 2020 election. Zuckerberg admitted that Meta’s decision to temporarily demote the story while awaiting fact-checking was a mistake, acknowledging that the story was not disinformation and should not have been suppressed.
This letter comes amid an ongoing investigation by the House Judiciary Committee into potential government influence on social media content moderation. Meta had previously announced the removal of 20 million posts and 3,000 accounts for spreading misinformation about COVID-19 and vaccines. The company claimed that their efforts had significantly reduced vaccine hesitancy on their platform.
In response, the White House stated that while they encourage responsible actions from tech companies to protect public health, they maintain that these companies should make independent decisions about content. The House Judiciary GOP highlighted Zuckerberg’s letter as a victory for free speech.
