Biden administration pressured Meta to censor Covid content, Zuckerberg tells House committee
In a recent letter to the House Judiciary Committee, Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg alleged that the Biden-Harris administration exerted significant pressure on Meta to censor COVID-19 related content in 2021. According to Zuckerberg, the administration’s attempts to influence the platform included pushing for the removal of various posts, including humor and satire about the virus. He expressed regret for not being more vocal about the pressure and acknowledged that some of the decisions made under this influence were mistakes that he would not repeat with the benefit of hindsight.
“I believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it,” Zuckerberg wrote. “We made some choices that, with the benefit of hindsight and new information, we wouldn’t make today.”
Zuckerberg’s letter also highlighted another contentious issue: the demotion of a New York Post story in 2020 regarding allegations of corruption involving Joe Biden’s family. He claimed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had warned Meta about a potential Russian disinformation campaign related to the story. However, Zuckerberg later admitted that the story should not have been demoted as it was not, in fact, Russian disinformation.
The letter has sparked significant reactions. The House Committee on the Judiciary, led by Republicans, shared the letter on social media platform X, calling it a victory for free speech. “Mark Zuckerberg just admitted three things: 1. Biden-Harris Admin ‘pressured’ Facebook to censor Americans. 2. Facebook censored Americans. 3. Facebook throttled the Hunter Biden laptop story. Big win for free speech,” the post read.
Zuckerberg concluded his letter by reaffirming Meta’s commitment to uphold its content standards independently of any external pressures, signaling a readiness to resist similar influences in the future.
