Zuckerberg says Biden administration pressured Meta to censor COVID content.

Meta Platforms Inc. CEO says that Facebook was “pressured” by the U.S. to censor content that was revolving around the pandemic that occurred from COVID-19. Mark Zuckerberg regrets the company’s decisions to agree with the demands that the government set forth to the social media conglomerate. Facebook officials stated that during the pandemic, they removed posts that were relating to the virus, vaccines, mask mandates, stating that the posts were spreading misinformation and went against their policies.

Like many other CEOs of large social media companies, Zuckerberg stated that he was not alone feeling that the content moderation went too far (including Jack Dorsey, former CEO of Twitter (X)). “In 2021, senior officials from the Biden Administration, including the White House, repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire,” Zuckerberg wrote in a letter to a committee of the U.S House of Representatives. Zuckerberg stated that at the end of the day it was the company's final decision, however the constant pressure from the U.S government influenced their decision.

As the election inches closer, Mark stated that he has always tried to stay neutral and to not appear to be playing a role. Investors will keep their eye on Meta Platforms Inc. ($META) as the markets continue to be volatile leading up to the upcoming Fed meeting in september.

‍