According to media reports, Mark Zuckerberg, the founder, CEO and chairman of Meta Platforms, Inc. (META), has claimed that senior White House officials requested the company to “censor” COVID-19 content during the pandemic.
Zuckerberg Reveals White House Pressured Meta Regarding Pandemic-Related Content
The Associated Press (AP) reported that Zuckerberg directed a letter to Jim Jordan, the Republican Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, in which he stated that the Biden-Harris administration “repeatedly pressured” Facebook – one of Meta’s social media platforms – “for months to take down” certain pandemic posts, including humorous and satirical ones.
Meta’s CEO also indicated that his company will object to such demands in future. The company’s officials allegedly expressed their frustration with these government restrictions. Zuckerberg publicly posted this letter on his X and Facebook accounts. He wrote:
I believe the government pressure was wrong and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it.
According to AP data, this is Zuckerberg’s latest effort to highlight misinformation around the coronavirus. He also admitted to demoting the Hunter Biden laptop story, which turned out to be true.
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Meta investors closely watched stock movements after the publication of the letter. Around the midday mark on Tuesday 27 August 2024, Meta shares were steady at approximately $520 per share, experiencing a minor 0.05% dip.
Zacks pegged META as a trending stock and indicated that the company returned 11.9% in the past month. Analysts at Zacks predicted that Meta will post quarterly earnings of around $5.14 per share, which would manifest as more than a 17% year-over-year gain.
