Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently revealed on the "Lex Fridman Podcast" that he faced pressure from the scientific "establishment" to censor certain COVID-19 discussions on Facebook. These posts, he now admits, often contained information that later proved to be "debatable or true." Zuckerberg expressed concern about the implications of censoring potentially incorrect information that wasn't necessarily harmful. He questioned the balance between allowing open discussion and preventing the spread of misinformation, particularly in the rapidly evolving landscape of scientific understanding during the pandemic's early stages.
He stated that experts pushed for censorship of content which, in hindsight, was either open to interpretation or ultimately accurate. Zuckerberg believes this pressure from the scientific community damaged public trust. Podcast host Lex Fridman voiced his own anxieties about the potential loss of nuanced information online due to content moderation by governments and institutions. Zuckerberg's admission comes after he told CBS anchor Gayle King in 2021 that Facebook had removed 18 million posts containing what they deemed COVID-19 misinformation. At the time, he defended these actions, claiming the platform removed harmful misinformation in line with their policy while acknowledging the system's imperfections.
This revelation follows accusations that Zuckerberg collaborated with former NIAID director Dr. Anthony Fauci to suppress posts suggesting a Wuhan lab origin for COVID-19. This theory has gained traction, with the U.S. Department of Energy concluding earlier this year that a lab leak was the most likely origin of the pandemic.
