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Senior Biden administration officials pressured Facebook to “censor” some COVID-19 content during the pandemic, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said. He vowed the social media giant would resist if faced with such demands again.
In a letter to Rep. Jim Jordan, the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Zuckerberg alleges that officials, including those from the White House, have “repeatedly pressured” Facebook for months to remove “certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire.”
The officials “expressed great frustration” when the company did not agree, he wrote in the letter.
“I believe the government pressure was misguided, and I regret that we have not been more open about this,” Zuckerberg wrote in the Aug. 26 letter, posted on the committee’s Facebook page and to its X account.
The letter marks the latest in Zuckerberg’s rejection of efforts to crack down on misinformation surrounding the coronavirus pandemic during and after the 2020 presidential election, largely amid allegations that some posts were wrongly removed or blocked.
“I also think we made some choices that, knowing what we know now and what we know now, we wouldn’t make today,” he said, without elaborating. “We’re prepared to fight back if something like this happens again.”
In response, the White House said in a statement: “When faced with a deadly pandemic, this Administration encouraged responsible actions to protect public health and safety. Our position is clear and consistent: We believe technology companies and other private actors must consider the effects their actions have on the American people while making independent choices about the information they present.”
In August 2020, Facebook removed a post by then-President Donald Trump that “communicated false claims that a group of people are immune to COVID-19,” which Facebook said violated the site’s policies. Trump had posted a Fox News video claiming that children were “virtually immune” to the virus.
In early 2021, Facebook added what Zuckerberg called “credible information” labels to posts about COVID-19 vaccines. That came after it warned users who were sharing COVID-19 vaccine misinformation in April 2020 — just as the virus had led to global lockdowns and sweeping changes to daily life.
“Given the ongoing investigation into the origins of COVID-19 and in consultation with public health experts, we will no longer remove the claim that COVID-19 is man-made from our apps,” the platform said in another key decision related to the pandemic, in May 2021.
Conservatives have long ridiculed Facebook and other big tech companies for pursuing liberal priorities, accusing them of censorship.
Zuckerberg has attempted to change perceptions of the company on the right by appearing on podcaster Joe Rogan’s 2022 show and complimenting Republican candidate Donald Trump’s response to a recent assassination attempt as “badass.” He sent Monday’s letter to Jordan, who has been an outspoken Trump ally.
Hands-off approach to elections
Meanwhile, experts warn that this year’s US elections could be awash with misinformation on social media, as artificial intelligence and other tools spread to produce fake news stories and content that could mislead voters.
Zuckerberg also wrote in his letter that he would no longer donate money to expand voter access through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the company that manages the charity for him and his wife, Priscilla Chan.
Meta’s director was challenged to make an on-the-spot apology to the families of children exposed to sexual content on his social media platforms, while answering questions about the measures taken to protect victims from online harm.
The couple previously donated $400 million in US dollars. to help local election offices prepare for voters in the 2020 presidential electionwith the funds being used for protective equipment to prevent the spread of the coronavirus at polling places, drive-thru polling stations and equipment to process mail-in ballots.
“I know some people believe that this work has benefited one party over the other,” he said. “My goal is to be neutral and not to play any role whatsoever — or even to appear to play any role. So I don’t plan to make a similar contribution this cycle.”
Facebook attracted controversy after the 2016 election when it emerged that Cambridge Analytica, a consulting firm with ties to Trump political strategist Stephen Bannon, paid a Facebook app developer to gain access to the personal information of some 87 million of the platform’s users. That data was then used to target certain voters during the presidential campaign.
Facebook is currently trying to dismiss a multibillion-dollar class action lawsuit accusing Facebook of privacy violations related to the Cambridge Analytica saga.
Zuckerberg has said on multiple occasions that it is not the platform’s job to police political speech, while touting Facebook’s capabilities to combat “coordinated, inauthentic behavior” after the 2016 troubles.
Facebook suspended then-President Donald Trump’s account there and on Instagram in 2021 for inciting violence ahead of the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol. The suspension lasted two years before being lifted.
