In a letter to the House Judiciary Committee, Zuckerberg said senior White House officials had demands for censoring posts about COVID-19.

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Karah Rucker Anchor/Reporter

Tech

Zuckerberg regrets bowing to Biden administration to censor COVID posts

Aug 27, 2024

Karah Rucker Anchor/Reporter

By Karah Rucker (Anchor/Reporter), Zachary Hill (Video Editor)

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressed regret for yielding to “pressure” from the Biden administration to censor COVID-19-related content during the pandemic. In a letter to the House Judiciary Committee on Monday, Aug. 26, Zuckerberg revealed that senior officials in the White House had a list of demands for censoring online posts about COVID-19. He noted that the Biden administration became “frustrated” when Facebook did not comply with requests to remove certain posts.

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“In 2021, senior officials from the Biden Administration, including the White House, repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire, and expressed a lot of frustration with our teams when we didn’t agree,” Zuckerberg wrote.

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“I believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret we were not more outspoken about it,” Zuckerberg added. “I also think we made some choices that, with the benefit of hindsight and new information, we wouldn’t make today.”

Zuckerberg also mentioned that while Facebook made the final decisions on content removal, it felt significant pressure from the Biden administration. He stated that the company would resist such pressure in the future.

The pandemic was not the only time Facebook faced controversy over censorship. In his letter, Zuckerberg also addressed the Hunter Biden laptop issue from weeks before the 2020 presidential election. He explained that the FBI had warned Facebook about “possible Russian disinformation related to the Biden family,” leading the company to reduce the visibility of a New York Post story about the laptop while waiting for fact-checkers.

Zuckerberg noted that Facebook’s policies have since changed and it no longer demotes content while awaiting fact-checking.

“Mark Zuckerberg just admitted three things: The Biden-Harris administration pressured Facebook to censor Americans, Facebook censored Americans, and Facebook throttled the Hunter Biden laptop story,” The House Judiciary Committee posted on Facebook. “Big win for free speech.”

The White House has not yet commented on Zuckerberg’s letter.

Tags: Censorship, COVID-19, Facebook, House Judiciary Committee, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, Social Media

[KARAH RUCKER]

FACEBOOK’S CEO MARK ZUCKERBERG SAYS HE REGRETS BOWING TO “PRESSURE” FROM THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION TO CENSOR CONTENT ONLINE RELATED TO COVID-19 DURING THE PANDEMIC.

IN A LETTER HE WROTE TO THE HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE –

ZUCKERBERG ADMITS SENIOR OFFICIALS IN THE WHITE HOUSE HAD A LIST OF CENSORSHIP DEMANDS WHEN IT CAME TO ONLINE POSTS ABOUT COVID –

AND SAYS THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION WOULD “GET FRUSTRATED” WHEN FACEBOOK WOULDN’T COMPLY WITH THEIR SUGGESTIONS TO REMOVE POSTS.

IN THE LETTER TO HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN JIM JORDAN –

ZUCKERBERG SAYS “In 2021, senior officials from the Biden Administration, including the White House, repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire, and expressed a lot of frustration with our teams when we didn’t agree.”

“I believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret we were not more outspoken about it…I also think we made some choices that, with the benefit of hindsight and new information, we wouldn’t make today.”

THE META CEO ALSO MENTIONED IN THE LETTER THAT WHILE THE COMPANY MADE THE FINAL DECISIONS ON CONTENT REMOVAL –

THEY FELT THE WEIGHT OF THE PRESSURE FROM THE ADMINISTRATION.

SOMETHING HE SAYS THEY WILL PUSH BACK AGAINST IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN.

THE PANDEMIC WASN’T THE FIRST TIME FACEBOOK LANDED IN HOT WATER OVER CENSORSHIP.

IN HIS LETTER – ZUCKERBERG ALSO ADDRESSED THE HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP CONTROVERSY FROM JUST WEEKS BEFORE THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.

ZUCKERBERG SAYS THE FBI WARNED THE COMPANY ABOUT “POSSIBLE RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION RELATED TO THE BIDEN FAMILY.”

THEREFORE – FACEBOOK REDUCED THE VISIBILITY OF A NEW YORK POST STORY ABOUT THE LAPTOP WHILE WAITING FOR FACT-CHECKERS.

ZUCKERBERG SAYS FACEBOOK’S POLICIES HAVE CHANGED SINCE THEN.

NO LONGER DEMOTING CONTENT WHILE AWAITING FACT-CHECKING ON A STORY.

IN ITS FACEBOOK POST PUBLICLY DISPLAYING THE LETTER –

THE COMMITTEE WROTE – “MARK ZUCKERBERG JUST ADMITTED THREE THINGS.

BIDEN HARRIS ADMIN “PRESSURED FACEBOOK TO CENSOR AMERICANS.

FACEBOOK CENSORED AMERICANS.

FACEBOOK THROTTLED THE HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP STORY.

BIG WIN FOR FREE SPEECH.”

THE WHITE HOUSE HAS NOT COMMENTED ON ZUCKERBERG’S LETTER.

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Zuckerberg regrets bowing to Biden administration to censor COVID posts

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