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Mark Zuckerberg tells Joe Rogan podcast Biden administration tried to censor memes in surprise episode

January, 11, 2025-01:57

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Mark Zuckerberg tells Joe Rogan podcast Biden administration tried to censor memes in surprise episode:

Mark Zuckerberg revealed to Joe Rogan that the Biden administration attempted to pressure him into censoring a meme related to the Covid-19 pandemic and retaliated harshly when he declined. During an unexpected guest appearance on the widely listened-to podcast, the Meta CEO, aged 40, recounted how the White House would "call our team and yell at them and use profanity" regarding social media memes.

"We reached a point where we decided we would not remove content that is factual," Zuckerberg stated. "That’s absurd." He specifically mentioned that President Biden requested the removal of a meme featuring Leonardo DiCaprio pointing at a television, which appeared to be a reference from the film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

The meme humorously suggested that "in ten years, you might see an advertisement stating that if you received a Covid vaccine, you could qualify for compensation," resembling a class action lawsuit scenario. When instructed to take down the meme, Zuckerberg asserted that he and his team replied, "No, we will not remove humor."

In a remarkable assertion, he claimed that the White House "pressured us intensely to eliminate content that was genuinely true," adding that they insisted, "anything suggesting vaccines have side effects must be removed." Zuckerberg's podcast appearance coincides with strategic efforts to engage with the incoming Trump administration, including the recent significant reduction of Meta's fact-checking team. On the same day the Rogan episode aired, Axios reported that the company had also immediately discontinued all its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.