Zuckerberg Reveals Biden Administration's Pressure on Facebook to Censor COVID-19 Content

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has admitted that the Biden administration exerted pressure on Facebook to censor content related to COVID-19 during the pandemic.

This disclosure was made in a letter addressed to House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan.

Zuckerberg confessed that the White House "repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire," and expressed regret for not being more outspoken against this pressure. He acknowledged that this influence was "wrong" and stated, "We made some choices that, with the benefit of hindsight and new information, we wouldn't make today."

The Meta CEO also revealed that the company had "demoted" stories about Hunter Biden's laptop, further highlighting the extent of governmental influence on the platform's content moderation practices.

Zuckerberg emphasized that Meta would resist any future attempts at censorship, asserting, "I feel strongly that we should not compromise our content standards due to pressure from any administration in either direction - and we're ready to push back if something like this happens again."

A spokesperson for the White House defended their actions, stating, "When confronted with a deadly pandemic, this Administration encouraged responsible actions to protect public health and safety.

Our position has been clear and consistent: we believe tech companies and other private actors should take into account the effects their actions have on the American people, while making independent choices about the information they present."