Internet users claim that Mark Zuckerberg made some sensational revelations in a letter. The CEO of Meta deplored on Monday the “pressure” exerted by the Biden administration in the sole case of the Covid-19 epidemic. We have examined the document closely.
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The information examined by the Verifiers
In the midst of the Telegram affair, the defenders of a “alternative truth” claim to be “censored” by Facebook. As proof, they use what they consider to be a “confession letter” by Mark Zuckerberg in which the boss of the social network allegedly admitted “that the censorship came from orders given by the White House, with the approval of our government in France.” “How many people were killed by hiding the true information about the effects of vaccines?”, wonders, Friday August 30an Internet user who has been repeatedly pinned for sharing false information.
“Mark Zuckerberg admits that the Biden-Harris administration pressured his teams to censor content on platforms,” also wrote an account which we have identified as a relay of Russian propaganda. So what does this document really tell us?
“Pressures” during the pandemic
The letter is indeed authentic. Written by the boss of Meta, the multinational that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, it was sent to the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jim Jordan, on Monday, August 26. It notably discusses the Covid-19 epidemic. In the second paragraph, Mark Zuckerberg explains how officials from the United States government have “exerted repeated pressure” for several months in 2021 to have certain content relating to the virus removed, including some using “humor and satire”.
But this information is not new. The Biden administration has always acknowledged that it has worked with platforms to tackle false information about the epidemic, with the American president himself believing that disinformation “killed people.” The White House also acknowledged on Tuesday that its “position had been clear and constant” during the pandemic that has killed more than a million people in the United States. However, the boss of the digital giant explains that in the end, it is the company that has “decided whether or not to remove the content”.
How? Not arbitrarily, or by following the wishes of the American government, but by relying on verifications provided by the press and experts. As explained in the group policy guidelinesto determine what constitutes false information, Meta partners with “to third-party fact-checking organizations to review and assess the accuracy of the most viral content.”
The letter sent by Mark Zuckerberg to the chairman of the US House Judiciary Committee on Monday, August 26, 2024 – X
While waiting for a response, the teams have “downgraded” publications on this subject. That is to say, they were not deleted, but their visibility was reduced among users. The press, however, quickly confirmed the authenticity of the information, ruling out any disinformation operation. Here, what Mark Zuckerberg regrets is therefore the internal situation of his company, and not any censorship coming from outside. In his letter, he concludes on the subject by explaining that Meta will no longer temporarily declassify information while waiting for it to be verified.
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Furthermore, to understand the letter sent by Mark Zuckerberg, we must consider the reason why he is writing this letter. The document is not addressed to just anyone, but to Jim Jordan. A Republican elected official in Ohio, he has singled out the CEO of Meta as part of an ongoing investigation that aims to determine what agreements the Biden administration has made with digital companies. This recipient explains the tone of this letter. It is also the Republicans who are members of this judicial commission who made the letter public, in the midst of an election campaign marked by a wave of disinformation on social networks.
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In short, those who accuse the platform of censorship at the request of the White House and the “French government” fall into caricature. Not only does the Facebook boss never mention the Élysée, but he only mentions the “pressures” of the US government at the time of the Covid-19 epidemic. Nor does it point to any influence at the time of the 2020 presidential election, which Donald Trump has again accused of being “rigged”“. This letter is not an earthquake, by the way. Washington’s influence on social networks has already been at the center of a recent case before the Supreme Court. Last February, the judges, with a conservative majority, recognized the right of the executive branch to intervene with social networks to obtain the removal of content that it considers problematic, particularly in health matters.
Do you want to ask us questions or submit information that you don’t think is reliable? Don’t hesitate to write to us at [email protected]. You can also find us on X: our team is there behind the account @verif_TF1LCI.
Felicia STARS
