The arguments spoken in the podcast, which lasted approximately three hours and in which Zuckerberg tried to re-brand himself, will apparently create more discussions. It seems like some of these discussions will be about US politics and some of them will be about the pandemic period. Because, while Zuckerberg said that he was “very much in favor of the widespread use of vaccines” and that these were “more positive than negative”, he did not comment on the vaccination program. “But I think in trying to push this program, it’s basically They also tried to censor anyone who opposed” he said.
Zuckerberg heavily criticized the Biden administration’s pressure on Meta to “censor” Covid-19 content and admitted that they made some wrong decisions in the process. Zuckerberg“They pushed us so hard to take away what’s right. “Obviously they pushed us and said you have to remove anything that says vaccines can have side effects.”
Zuckerberg also “People from the Biden administration were calling our team, yelling and swearing.” he said.
While Zuckerberg did not specify who made the request from the White House, he stated that there was no record of the meetings. CEO, “I was not directly involved in these conversations.” he said. But he said the company’s response was that it would not remove content that was “unquestionably true.” Zuckerberg said that following this attitude, US institutions began to target the company.
Zuckerberg’s statements about the Covid era are not new. In a letter to the House Judiciary Committee in August, he asked the White House itself to “specific Covid-19 content, including humor and satire” He announced that he wanted it removed.
These statements come just after Meta announced that it would stop working with independent fact-checking organizations and switch to a “community notes” system where users can comment on the accuracy of content. He acknowledged on the podcast that the move was met with a mixed reaction but added: “You should do what you think is right… the whole point of social media is basically to give people the ability to share whatever they want.”
At the beginning of the interview, Zuckerberg claimed that social media companies were founded to “give people a voice.” However, it should be remembered that Zuckerberg started his career with a platform called FaceMash. FaceMash was a highly ethically controversial project in which female students at Harvard uploaded their photos without permission and put them to vote.
Zuckerberg claimed that the Biden administration pressured Facebook to remove content related to COVID-19 and vaccines. However, it is known that at the beginning of the pandemic, most such content moderation decisions were made during the Trump administration. Biden took office in 2021. It is also noteworthy that in the interview in which Zuckerberg criticized the Biden administration, he did not mention the pressure he has received from conservative politicians for years. It is known that prominent Republican Senators have repeatedly targeted Zuckerberg in public hearings.
Zuckerberg’s claims about the Biden administration and government pressure are also contradicted by past documents and Facebook’s own internal memos. For example, Zuckerberg implied that the company’s censorship of the Covid-19 lab leak theory was the result of White House pressure, while former head of global affairs Nick Clegg has previously stated that there was no government pressure to censor this theory. In summary, we can say that Zuckerberg’s narrative offers a perspective that highlights only one aspect and overshadows his own responsibilities. This perspective is consistent with Zuckerberg’s efforts to renew his image, which has deteriorated in recent years.
Source
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/10/mark-zuckerberg-says-biden-pushed-meta-to-remove-posts-on-vaccines.html
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/politics/2025/01/10/biden-white-house-pressured-facebook-to-remove-covid-memes/
https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/10/24341117/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-joe-rogan-lies
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