Daniel Cochrane
Mark Zuckerberg conducts offensive charm.
His company, simply he agreed to pay $ 25 million to resolve the claim, which President Donald Trump filed in 2021 after being suspended by Facebook and Instagram.
The settlement appears on the heels of Zuckerberg’s turnout at the inauguration of Trump on January 20, alleged metal pass from Dei and earlier announcement that the company will withdraw independent checking of facts and take steps to reduce errors in its content moderation systems.
Zuckerberg rotary sudden rotary is a welcome change. He says that he wants to return the finish “to [its] Roots around free expression. “But his earlier achievements of broken promises are the cause of deep suspicions.
During the first presidency of Trump, when the finish line (then Facebook) reaction Down biased censorshipZuckerberg he said Georgetown university audience in October 2019, which “we must continue free expression” and that in “Democracy … people should decide what is credible, not technology companies …”.
A year later in October 2020, weeks before the presidential election, Zuckerberg returned to his word.
Facebook he said From the FBI, to suppress the history of the Hunter New York laptop, the false grounds that history was the result of the Russian “Hack-and leakage operation”.
Went on indefinite prohibition Trump, when he was in the position – Platform movement tilted Just a few months before his historical re -election and now he paid millions to avoid further court disputes.
At the same time, Facebook he worked Hand with the federal government to silence skeptics who questioned the effectiveness and safety of Covid-19 vaccines.
Zuckerberg he said Chamber subcommittee in 2021, this Facebook “[removed] Over 12 million imitation content ”at Covid-19 height. He boasted That it did “more to get disinformation than any other company” and added that he was “proud of the teams and systems … [it] built.”
Zuckerberg Accepted privately Later the same year “compromise” compromise[ed]”His standards” because of pressure “. However, Facebook continued suppress Chinese “theory of laboratory leaks” and “vaccine” [discouraging] Humor posts “Until at least January 2022”
Similarly during the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 Thousands of posts and bills marked as “Russian disinformation” by the FBI and a disgraced Ukrainian intelligence agency. These attached Authentic users’ relationships in the USA, as well as “@Usaporuski … official, verified, Russian language [Instagram] US Department of State Account. “
Just five months later in August 2022, when the Republicans were ready recover the houseZuckerberg made a strategic introduction. He revealed In the podcast, Joe Rogana Facebook suppressed the history of the Hunter Biden laptop in 2020 based on FBI tips.
Defense of the decision, he he said This finish only warned the ends of the FBI.
In fact, however, the meta has repeatedly censored speech against its own better judgment – so far that so far Change Its content rules – to Put on the biden administration.
Some investigation By House, the judiciary stated that Facebook officials decided to censor the laptop’s history without a reliable proof of leakage with the knowledge that their actions can influence the election in 2020..
Zuckerberg and meta leadership has explicitly hidden the political motives of their censorship.
It was only after the reported by the Republican Committee did he vote in favor of submitting Zuckerberg contempt Whether the company fully cooperated with the investigation and present all evidence Metal collusion with various governmental entities, such as White House and FBI.
Even then Zuckerberg Expressed public remorse Down Censorship in August 2024 arrangements And Trump won the re -election.
Now, along with the return of Trump to the office and renewed efforts to Rein in substantial techZuckerberg would like us to all forget about the sins of Meta or at least remember them in a more favorable delicate.
A few days after Zuckerberg Meeting with Trump In November, the former head of global affairs, Nick Clegg, went back to the long -term defense of her censorship practices. Clegg admitted This meta has evaluated too much content through the “error”.
Zuckerberg’s script video – without two weeks later –he repeated The line that the censorship of its platforms was mainly a great “mistake”. He conveniently shifts for political prejudice to the fabric of the facts, he claimed The fact that the expansive majority of censorship is the result of the policy of the content of good litur and “complex systems” that sometimes get wrong.
In an ironic accent, Zuckerberg dismissed His speech Georgetown on 2019 on the subject of “freedom of expression” – which he gave a year before interfering in elections in 2020, censoring the history of Hunter Biden’s laptop.
It was only after the reported by the Republican Committee did he vote in favor of submitting Zuckerberg contempt Whether the company fully cooperated with the investigation and present all evidence Metal collusion with various governmental entities, such as White House and FBI.
Even then Zuckerberg Expressed public remorse Down Censorship in August 2024 arrangements And Trump won the re -election.
Now, along with the return of Trump to the office and renewed efforts to Rein in substantial techZuckerberg would like us to all forget about the sins of Meta or at least remember them in a more favorable delicate.
A few days after Zuckerberg Meeting with Trump In November, the former head of global affairs, Nick Clegg, went back to the long -term defense of her censorship practices. Clegg admitted This meta has evaluated too much content through the “error”.
Zuckerberg’s script video – without two weeks later –he repeated The line that the censorship of its platforms was mainly a great “mistake”. He conveniently shifts for political prejudice to the fabric of the facts, he claimed The fact that the expansive majority of censorship is the result of the policy of the content of good litur and “complex systems” that sometimes get wrong.
In an ironic accent, Zuckerberg dismissed His speech Georgetown on 2019 on the subject of “freedom of expression” – which he gave a year before interfering in elections in 2020, censoring the history of Hunter Biden’s laptop.
One sec Some This was characterized by an advertisement as “Zuck Finding of his spine”, a better explanation is that he was afraid to be responsible for revealing American values to tranquil the powerful.
If the achievements of Meta and Zuckerberg about broken promises teach us anything, then you can not trust him or his company. Over and over again, when the finish stood before pressure, to violate its own standards and undermine freedom of speech, so that Curry political favor would go.
Zuckerberg wants us to forget about the betrayal of American values on Facebook.
Due to our nation and the future of freedom of speech, meta and its vast technological counterparts must be held responsible. As Vice President JD Vance he said Last week, Big Tech is still “very attention”.
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Daniel Cochrane is an older researcher at the Technology Policy Center at Heritage Foundation.
Photo “Mark Zuckerberg” by Mark Zuckerberg.
