Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in an interview released Thursday that Facebook suppressed the New York Post’s report about Hunter Biden’s laptop after the FBI warned the tech giant about misinformation.
Asked by podcast host Joe Rogan about Facebook’s approach to the Hunter Biden report, published in October 2020, Zuckerberg said, “The background here is the FBI, I think, basically came to us … and was like, Hey, just so you know, like you should be on high alert. … We thought that there was a lot of Russian propaganda in the 2016 election. We have it on notice that basically there’s about to be some kind of dump … that’s similar to that.”
The Meta CEO contrasted Facebook’s approach with Twitter, which completely banned sharing the Post article.
“The distribution on Facebook was decreased, but people were still allowed to share it,” Zuckerberg said on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast. noting that the social media giant was waiting on fact checkers to give a verdict on the report “So you could still share it. You could still consume it “
Asked by Rogan how significantly the distribution was affected, Zuckerberg did not give an exact figure, but said the impact was “meaningful.”
In the years since the Post’s Hunter Biden articles, other news outlets, including the New York Times and Washington Post, have reported that emails from the laptop appear authentic.
“So the FBI preemptively warned Facebook off Hunter Biden laptop reporting,” tweeted Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., adding: “This same agency effectively laundered Russian [disinformation] in the 2016 election in the form of Steele dossier. And later lied to a court to get wiretaps.”
So the FBI preemptively warned Facebook off Hunter Biden laptop reporting. This same agency effectively laundered Russian disinfo in the 2016 election in the form of Steele dossier. And later lied to a court to get wiretaps https://t.co/wrD01hSbFe
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) August 26, 2022
Other Republican lawmakers also reacted on Twitter:
Mark Zuckerberg flippantly admitting that Facebook censored the TRUE Hunter Biden laptop story (supposedly at the request of the FBI) should alarm every American regardless of their political party.
— Rep. August Pfluger (@RepPfluger) August 26, 2022
The truth matters. Free speech matters. We deserve answers.
Republicans have one main job – expose the #AuthoritativeState to the people & refuse to fund these agencies without firing, impeaching, & totally overhauling every bit of it. #DefundTyranny https://t.co/ohU7ZnWV5Q
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) August 26, 2022
There was domestic interference in the 2020 election. https://t.co/fzDIXci6Fi
— Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) August 26, 2022
Katrina Trinko is editor-in-chief of The Daily Signal. Original here. Reproduced with permission.