Well, well, well—Mark Zuckerberg is finally admitting what we’ve known for years: Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, got way too involved in politics. In a rather shocking revelation, Zuckerberg himself confessed that he “messed up” by letting his companies dive headfirst into the political fray. And now, after years of censorship and bias allegations, the Meta CEO is trying to clean up the mess he helped create.
Speaking at a podcast event in San Francisco earlier this month, Zuckerberg bemoaned the situation, admitting that he completely misjudged the political environment his platforms had inserted themselves into. “The political environment, I think I didn’t have much sophistication around, and I think I just fundamentally misdiagnosed the problem,” Zuckerberg said, according to The New York Times. “I think it’s going to take another 10 years or so for us to fully work through that cycle before our brand is back to the place that it could have been, if I hadn’t messed up in the first place.”
You don’t say, Mark! After years of playing referee between the left and the right, banning conservative voices, and walking hand-in-hand with the Biden administration on controversial issues like COVID-19, Zuckerberg now claims it’ll take another decade for Meta’s brand to recover. That’s a pretty hefty admission from a guy who controls some of the most powerful social media platforms on the planet.
But here’s where things get even more interesting. Attempting to mend fences, Zuckerberg has apparently been cozying up to none other than former President Donald Trump. According to reports, he’s spoken with Trump twice in recent months and even went so far as to hire Republican strategist Brian Baker to help repair his relationship with right-wing media and GOP officials. Talk about a shift in tone!
BREAKING: Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly now aligned “with libertarian ideology” and has hired a Republican strategist to repair his relationship with right-wing media and operatives after years of censorship. pic.twitter.com/gOLQDmMLSt
— Leading Report (@LeadingReport) September 25, 2024
And let’s not forget Zuckerberg’s recent letter to Congressman Jim Jordan (R-OH), where he spilled some serious tea about how the Biden administration pressured Meta to censor content related to COVID-19. In the August 26 letter, Zuckerberg admitted that the White House “repeatedly pressured” Meta to censor COVID-related posts, even humor, and satire and that his teams faced “a lot of frustration” when they refused to comply. But let’s be clear—Zuckerberg also acknowledged that Meta still made the decision to cave in many cases, and he regrets not standing up more forcefully. “I believe the government pressure was wrong,” he wrote. You think?!
As reported by the Dailywire, Zuckerberg wrote,
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, and expressed a lot of frustration with our teams when we didn’t agree. Ultimately, it was our decision whether or not to take content down, and we own our decisions including COVID-19-related changes we made to our enforcement in the wake of thus pressure. I believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it.
This newfound “regret” doesn’t come without a political about-face. Earlier this summer, Zuckerberg told a conference crowd that he regretted hiring staff at his philanthropy who pushed him further to the left on key issues. Now, he’s clearly trying to pivot back toward the right after alienating conservative users for years.
And just to put the cherry on top, Zuckerberg recently called Trump to apologize after Meta removed images of the assassination attempt on the former president in Butler, Pennsylvania. Yes, you read that right. After censoring the images, Zuckerberg personally picked up the phone to make amends. That’s not exactly something you’d expect from a guy who’s spent the last few years walking in lockstep with the Democrats.
So here we are, watching Zuckerberg attempt to repair the damage after years of political meddling, censorship, and heavy-handed content moderation. Will it work? Time will tell. But one thing’s for sure—Zuckerberg’s sudden change of heart comes after a whole lot of damage has already been done. And let’s be honest, it’s hard not to wonder whether this newfound “regret” is less about principle and more about pragmatism as Meta faces increasing scrutiny from both sides of the political aisle.
