Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has come under fire after the O’Keefe Media Group released damning recordings allegedly showing him collaborating with pro-vaccine organizations to censor dissent content on COVID-19 vaccines.
The recordings, which stem from a Rockefeller Foundation conference call in 2021, raise serious questions about Zuckerberg’s role in censoring information on vaccines, despite his claiming it was pressure from the Biden administration.
The organizations involved included the Chicago Community Trust, United Way of Greater Newark, and Roots Community Health Center.
Facebook granted significant free advertising credits to organizations that promoted government-aligned vaccine narratives.
During the leaked call, Facebook’s Director of Health Policy and Communications, Estelle Willie, revealed that the platform provided 100,000 ad credits per pilot city to advance public health messaging.
“We negotiated $100,000 ad credits per pilot city to use, and then we also got ad credits for Governor Cuomo after he called Otis asking,” Willie is heard saying.
James O’Keefe said of the recordings:
“Facebook’s partnership with entities pushing COVID-19 narratives shows active engagement, not just a reaction to government mandates,” O’Keefe stated.
Listen:
This revelation comes as Zuckerberg pointed the finger at the Biden administration for pressuring his platform to suppress certain information.
During a recent appearance on the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, Zuckerberg admitted that his company initially resisted censoring satirical memes about COVID-19 vaccines.
However, he claimed government officials escalated matters, threatening action if the platform failed to comply.
According to Zuckerberg, the White House pressured Facebook to remove content it labeled as “misinformation” about vaccines, with officials allegedly “yelling and cursing” to enforce their demands.
One example of the content in question was a meme using a scene from the film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which suggested a future class-action lawsuit for vaccine injuries could arise within a decade.
President Joe Biden, who had made vaccine mandates a cornerstone of his COVID-19 policy, declared in July 2021 that social media platforms were “killing people” by allowing what he deemed “misinformation” about vaccines to circulate.
Zuckerberg noted that while the First Amendment prohibits censorship by the government, it does not apply to private companies like Facebook.
Nevertheless, he revealed that Facebook had censored 18 million pieces of content classified as “COVID-19 misinformation” and shadow-banned an additional 167 million posts flagged by its fact-checkers.
Recently, Zuckerberg announced the termination of Facebook’s fact-checking programme, citing its “political bias” and counterproductive nature.
He argued that the initiative had devolved into a tool for silencing differing opinions and stifling debate.
However, these developments have sparked significant controversy, as critics contend that Zuckerberg’s claims conflict with evidence brought to light in leaked recordings.
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