Mark Zuckerberg decided to do away with Meta’s censorship policies after a Facebook post that he authored in 2023 about martial-arts related knee injury failed to go viral, according to a report.
In November 2023, the Meta CEO posted a photo of himself in a hospital bed following surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee — an injury that he sustained while training for a Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament.
“Tore my ACL sparring and just got out of surgery to replace it,” the CEO wrote in the Facebook post, managing a clinched fist with his bandaged, braced knee propped up and jutting towards the camera.
“I was training for a competitive MMA fight for early next year, but now that’s delayed a bit,” the 40-year-old tech tycoon added. “Still looking forward to it after I recover. Thanks to everyone for the love and support.”
To Zuckerberg’s dismay, the post drew “anemic attention”. He investigated and learned that Facebook’s software engineers had tweaked the algorithm to limit the spread of health-related content due to fears that it includes false information, according to the Wall Street Journal.
A peeved Zuckerberg demanded a probe that “snowballed into a full-scale review of the company’s algorithmic demotions” to determine whether it was a case of overreach, the Journal reported.
The Post has sought comment from Meta.
Meta spokesperson Andy Stone told the Journal that Zuckerberg’s shift towards free speech was based on his long-held beliefs and downplayed Zuckerberg’s gripe about his own post, according to the paper.
Zuckerberg on Tuesday announced that Meta would end its partnerships with third party fact-checkers and institute a “Community Notes” model similar to that of Elon Musk’s social media platform X.
The Facebook founder admitted that his tech company has engaged in “too much censorship” — alluding to the platform’s move to limit the sharing of The Post’s coverage of the Hunter Biden laptop scandal as well as pressure from the Biden administration to crack down on Covid-related misinformation.
“We’re going to get back to our roots and focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies and restoring free expression on our platforms,” Zuckerberg said in a video on Tuesday.
The move was met with consternation and criticism from Meta employees who complained that it would lead to rampant misinformation across Meta platforms Facebook, Instagram and Threads.
The stunning reversal will include moving Meta’s content moderation team from deep-blue California to right-leaning Texas in order to insulate the group from cultural bias — a move that looked like another page out of Musk’s playbook.
Zuckerberg’s company announced last week that it would add Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White, a supporter of President-elect Donald Trump, and two others to the board of directors.
Meta has also sought to reorient itself politically by naming Joel Kaplan as chief global affairs officer. Kaplan, who once served as deputy chief of staff for George W. Bush, replaced Nick Clegg, who once headed the UK Liberal Democrat Party.
At a press conference hours after Zuckerberg posted the video on Tuesday, Trump praised the changes.
“I think they’ve come a long way, Meta,” Trump said.
When asked if he believed Zuckerberg made the changes in response to threats the incoming president has made, Trump responded: “Probably.”
Meta is among several tech companies apparently working to get in Trump’s good graces before he takes office later this month.
Meta and Amazon each donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund in December, and Zuckerberg had dinner with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
Amazon announced a documentary on incoming first lady Melania Trump. Its founder, Jeff Bezos, blocked the editorial board of his newspaper, The Washington Post, from endorsing Trump’s opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, just before the election.
ABC News, which is owned by Disney, last month settled a libel suit filed by Trump with a $15 million payment to Trump’s presidential library foundation.
With Post Wires
