Mark Zuckerberg Says Biden Officials Will ‘Scream’ and ‘Curse’ When Demanding Facebook Content Removed

In an episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” released Friday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg painted a picture of Biden administration officials criticizing Facebook employees when they asked to remove certain content from the social network.

“Basically, these people from the Biden administration would call our team and, like, cry and curse,” Zuckerberg told podcast host and comedian Joe Rogan. “It got to the point where we said, ‘No, we’re not going to, we’re not going to remove the real stuff. That’s ridiculous.’

The White House did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment about Zuckerberg’s remarks.

This is not the first time that the Facebook founder has said that management officials have pressured the company to remove posts.

In a letter he wrote last year to Rep. Jim Jordan, the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said Zuckerberg said the White House had “repeatedly pressured” Facebook to remove “certain COVID-19 content including humor and satire.”

Zuckerberg said Facebook, which is owned by Meta, is willing at times, while suggesting that different decisions will be made going forward. He said the company “made certain decisions, with the benefit of hindsight and new information, that we would not make today.”

The White House responded at the time in a statement saying: “In the face of a deadly pandemic, these Administrations have advocated appropriate measures to protect the health and safety of the public.” Our position has been clear and unwavering: we believe that technology companies and other private actors must consider the consequences their actions have on the American people, while making independent decisions about the information they present. “

On Rogan’s show, Zuckerberg said executives asked Facebook to remove a meme showing actor Leonardo DiCaprio pointing at a TV screen advertising a class-action lawsuit against people who have taken the Covid vaccine.

“They said, ‘No, you have to take that down,'” Zuckerberg said, adding, “We said, ‘No, we’re not going to, we shouldn’t take down jokes and sarcasm. It’s not going to take down real, real things.’

That meme was included as evidence in an amicus brief filed by congressional Republicans in a case that went to the Supreme Court in 2023.

In that case, the plaintiffs, which include Louisiana, Missouri and several Facebook users whose posts were removed or downgraded, are seeking to block federal officials from contacting the social media companies.

The Supreme Court ultimately dismissed the case in a 6-3 decision, saying in part that there was ample evidence of platforms policing content without government intervention.

“In fact, the forums, acting independently, had strengthened their content moderation policies long before the federal defendants got involved,” wrote Judge Amy Coney Barrett in her opinion.

Zuckerberg’s comments on Rogan’s podcast come days after he announced that Meta would end its fact-checking program and replace it with a community-driven framework similar to the Community Notes program on X. He also announced that his platforms – Facebook and Instagram – will be free. laws related to political content.

Zuckerberg is one of the tech giants, reportedly including Jeff Bezos of Amazon, whose companies have pledged $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com