In an interview with Joe Rogan that dropped August 25, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed that not only did Facebook suppress the 2020 New York Post story concerning Hunter Biden’s laptop, but that it was done in response to a request from the FBI. It was the latest in a long line of official confirmations of facts previously excoriated as “conspiracy theories.”
Conservatives consider this a giant smoking gun to point to in their quest to treat social media companies as something other than purely private companies. Some libertarians are making the case Facebook and other social media companies were “coerced” into censoring information helpful to Republicans, including in 2020.
I don’t believe the officers at social media companies feel coerced, even after having been hauled in front of Congress. It’s more likely they took away from those hearings that they have to do better at something they believe is a legitimate duty: to prevent “misinformation.”
Either way, Zuckerberg’s comments provide both groups with proof that something must be done. What must be done is a thornier question.
First, it’s worthwhile to unpack Zuckerberg’s statements. There is much nuance there.
Rogan followed up Zuckerberg’s statement to ask whether the FBI requested Facebook censor the Hunter Biden story in particular. Zuckerberg replied, “No, I don’t remember if it was that specifically, but it was, it basically fit the pattern.”
Fit what pattern? The pattern of supposed Russian propaganda that damaged Donald Trump’s Democratic opponent in the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton and which again would damage Trump’s opponent in 2020. Because, you know, Putin puppet.
Zuckerberg goes on to say, “We just kind of thought, hey look, if the FBI, which I still view as a legitimate institution in this country, it’s a very professional law enforcement, they come to us and tell us we need to be on guard about something, then I want to take that seriously.”
Zuckerberg’s use of the word “still” is significant here, as the interview was recorded after the controversial FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago. It was obviously either a message to or at least an acknowledgement of the many people who no longer view the FBI as a legitimate institution, both because of the raid and its role in Russiagate fiasco over the first two years of Trump’s presidency.
It would be easy to point at some of Zuckerberg’s statements and conclude them as proof he is colluding with the government specifically to prevent Trump or anyone like him from getting elected again. I didn’t hear that. It sounded more like someone who firmly believes in the civic religion and wants to think about himself as doing the civic duty every “captain of industry” has. Or something.
That begs the question whether Zuckerberg would have suppressed a story damaging to Donald Trump under similar circumstances. It’s hard to imagine he would, but it’s possible. From his perspective, he might view it as a defending Nazis marching in Skokie sort of thing. But I wouldn’t bet my own money on it.
I walked away from the interview with the impression Zuckerberg is a typical business owner. He sounded like the vast majority of them when it comes to politics: trying his best to be as conventional and uncontroversial as possible. And like it or not, uncontroversial has meant a left-leaning centrism for at least the past one hundred years.
Blandly conventional is also the safest way to be when you’re looking to maximize revenue from sources across the political spectrum. Don’t forget Facebook also takes a lot of heat from the left for not censoring enough. That Zuckerberg’s and other Facebook officers’ personal biases are with the left make it even more likely that they would be able to view MAGA Republicans as “extremist” but Bernie Bros. as merely pushing the envelope a little.
Like all businessmen, Zuckerberg has to navigate through our grossly overregulated economy, with the threat of more regulation hanging over his head at all times. He has to consider a workforce that skews much younger and more liberal than that of the typical industry. And a majority of his customers lean left. The USA may be a federated republic, but Facebook’s customer base is not.
I am not even suggesting all of this is conscious on his part. When you spend 23 hours per day eating, drinking, and sleeping running a large company, you don’t have the bandwidth to develop complex political ideas, nor do you have the motivation to do so. When asked their political opinions, most business leaders want to sound smart and offend as few potential customers as possible.
Running a successful business means constantly overcoming distractions and stops. It’s a little like running a gauntlet. Someone complains about misinformation? Hire fact checkers. Others complain about equity issues? Make your employees go through equity training. Another group says you’re polluting the environment? Adopt ESG protocols.
Rather than part of a focused political agenda, these are all obstacles to be batted aside – or clubs to avoid being brained by – as you try to keep your head down and make it through the gauntlet to another profitable quarter.
You’re trying to make widgets and these distractions knock you off course. How do I make them go away as cheaply and quickly as possible? This is how business owners think. Take my word for it.