There is a lot of justifiable anger directed at Mark Zuckerberg, and Beege and I have somewhat conflicting views on how angry we should remain at Zuck.
I left Facebook, on which I was extremely active with a lot of followers, because the censorship was inhibiting my reach, which was offensive in itself, and I could reach more people writing at Hot Air anyway. It suppressed my reach, getting to moderates who followed me, but I couldn't stomach being censored like that. COVID policies broke my loyalty to Facebook.
But I see no point in holding a grudge now that Facebook is reversing course and revealing the reasons why they engaged in the censorship: the Biden administration outright threatened them if they didn't. And, as much as I like the argument that the company should have stood up and fought, the reality is that it is a public corporation, and the threats were more than notional.
On Joe Rogan's podcast, Mark Zuckerberg criticized the Biden administration for pushing censorship around COVID-19 vaccines, the media for hounding Facebook to crack down on misinformation after the 2016 election and his own company for complying. https://t.co/eComccddcT
— Axios (@axios) January 10, 2025
You may recall that both administration figures and Senate Democrats were screaming loudly about regulating or breaking up social media companies, including explicit threats linked to controlling "disinformation." Nice trillion-dollar company you have there. It would be a shame if something happened to it.
Elon brought Twitter (now X) private and could flip off the government, and he loved the fight. Facebook has a responsibility to its shareholders, and I suppose Zuck probably doesn't share the same love of the fight that Elon does. I guess you could say that Elon goes above and beyond the call of duty; Zuck, not so much.
HOLY SHLIT. Mark Zuckerberg says the Biden admin called his employees and “screamed and cursed” at them to take down Covid/vaccine content. They wanted Meta to censor memes too.
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 10, 2025
When he pushed back, the Biden regime started investigating his companies.
“It was brutal.” pic.twitter.com/rNwZtoq0hO
It's not that Facebook isn't too woke for my taste--I am not going back, having left it behind and seeing no need. But I think it doesn't make sense to punish a person or company for finally coming around. We may choke on the words, but praising somebody for seeing the light is a lot more effective than attacking them for being too late.
🚨JOE ROGAN: "This recent announcement that you did about content moderation -- how has that been received?"
— Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) January 10, 2025
ZUCKERBERG: "It probably depends on who you ask."
LMAO 😂 pic.twitter.com/MyUDSIY1Bf
You basically put companies in a position of lose-lose. The Left gets furious, and the Right doesn't praise them. Take the win, I say.
And the winning is getting good with Facebook.
Mark Zuckerberg praises X’s Community Notes system.
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 10, 2025
“X did it better than us on fact checking”
This week Zuckerberg announced he’s getting rid of “fact-checking” and implementing a Community Notes system. pic.twitter.com/ltJcr4XXGA
They have dumped the fake "fact checkers," who are bashing them for doing so. That is part of the cost Facebook is paying, and if history is any guide, the Left will try to demonetize Facebook. Facebook, though, is a Goliath and is probably uncancelable by anybody but the government.
NOW - Zuckerberg describes his experience with third-party "fact-checkers" as "something out of 1984."pic.twitter.com/7zpEIygN5K
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) January 10, 2025
BREAKING: Mark Zuckerberg admits that the Biden forced Facebook to CENSOR any information about side effects of the covid injections.pic.twitter.com/hagTQ2lM5O
— PeterSweden (@PeterSweden7) January 10, 2025
There is zero doubt that the election of Trump has given Zuckerberg and Facebook the room to maneuver and the incentive to change, but don't underestimate the blowback from META employees that will surely follow. In a recent poll--I forget by whom--corporate leaders said they feared their employees more than regulators on these matters, and with good reason. Employee revolts must be nightmares, and if you aren't backed by cultural and governmental encouragement, the pain can be intense.
META CEO Mark Zuckerberg tells Joe Rogan that he is "optimistic" about President-elect Donald Trump because he "just wants America to win."
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) January 10, 2025
He says that Trump will protect American companies around the world from being ripped off and stolen from by foreign governments. pic.twitter.com/iAhrCMEozO
Not to mention that the Biden administration was colluding with European governments to impose censorship, and when the governments over which most of your customers rule are determined to destroy you, buckling to the pressure may not be a profile in courage, but also is probably seen as prudent by your Board of Directors.
WHOA: Mark Zuckerberg is now suggesting the Biden administration is guilty of ILLEGAL acts to censor speech.
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) January 10, 2025
“I don’t think that the pushing for social media companies to censor stuff was legal.”
“Having people in the administration calling up the guys on our team and yelling… pic.twitter.com/IWowAIShr1
There is a lot to be angry about looking back--not just with Facebook censorship--especially with Zuckerbucks. I don't forgive him for that, but I also don't see the point of focusing on it. It is in the rearview mirror, and Facebook seems to be making all the right moves, and if it continues to do so, we should celebrate.
Breaking: Mark Zuckerberg's META empire of social media platforms is putting an end to all Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies internally.https://t.co/l4UsEifFtW
— John McGuirk (@john_mcguirk) January 10, 2025
Does arguing this make me soft? I don't think so. It makes me realistic. If we can make the world a better place by making it easier to come over to our side, I say go for it. We should applaud the celebrities, companies, influencers, and journalists who break with the cultural elite and want to work with us.
🚨🇺🇸 MARK ZUCKERBERG: AMERICAN TECH IS UNDER ATTACK AND THE U.S. NEEDS TO DEFEND IT
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) January 10, 2025
“The U.S. Government led the attacks against their companies which gave permission for the EU and other countries to go after U.S. companies as well.
I think that the American tech industry is… https://t.co/mcU4v2RIQ6 pic.twitter.com/xPftWcchg4
We are stronger together. Sitting across the table with former leftists or their enablers may be uncomfortable, but every person or entity who joins us makes us stronger and the Left weaker.
Jump on in! The water is warm.
No longer Data's long lost half brother.
— Clarence Beeks, Crop Report Specialist (@AlfredENewman5) January 10, 2025
🤣 pic.twitter.com/5Nz2MKdCwH
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