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Zuckerberg regrets bowing to government pressure on Covid-19 censorship

30 Aug 2024

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has expressed regret for yielding to what he describes as pressure from the US government to censor Covid-19 content on Facebook and Instagram during the pandemic.

Source: www.unsplash.com

In a letter to Jim Jordan, chair of the US House Judiciary Committee, Zuckerberg claimed that senior officials from President Biden’s administration repeatedly pressured Meta to suppress certain Covid-related posts, including humour and satire. He now believes this government influence was inappropriate.

During the pandemic, Facebook labeled posts with misinformation alerts and removed content critical of vaccines or suggesting Covid originated in a Chinese lab. Reflecting on these decisions, Zuckerberg acknowledged that, with hindsight, some choices would have been different and that Meta should have been more vocal in resisting government pressure.

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Zuckerberg also admitted that Facebook temporarily downplayed a story about Hunter Biden's laptop after the FBI warned of a possible Russian disinformation campaign. He later concluded that the story wasn't disinformation and regretted the decision to suppress it.

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee hailed Zuckerberg's revelations as a "big win for free speech," while the White House defended its actions, emphasising the need to protect public health and safety during the pandemic.