In November 2016, when Facebook was being blamed for the fake news and conspiracy theories swirling around Donald J. Trump's first election, the social network's chief executive Mark Zuckerberg posted an apology. did.
In his message, Zuckerberg announced a series of steps he plans to take to address false and misleading information on Facebook, including working with fact checkers.
“The bottom line is we take misinformation seriously,” he wrote in a personal Facebook post. He added: “There are a number of respected fact-checking organizations. We are in contact with some and will learn from many more.”
Eight years later, Zuckerberg has no longer apologized. On Tuesday, he announced that Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads, would end its fact-checking program and return to its roots around free expression. He said the fact-checking system allowed for “over-censorship.”
It was the latest step in Zuckerberg's transformation. The 40-year-old CEO has distanced himself in recent years from a merely responsible approach to issues on social platforms. Tired of the occasional constant criticism of his company, he told top aides that he wanted to return to his original idea of free speech, which meant less moderation of content.
Mr. Zuckerberg reshaped the meta as he made changes. The CrowdTangle transparency tool that allowed researchers, academics, and journalists to monitor conspiracy theories and misinformation on Facebook is gone. The company's election integrity team, once touted as a group of experts focused solely on voting issues, has now been merged into the general integrity team.
Instead, Zuckerberg has promoted technology efforts in the meta, including investments in the immersive world of the so-called Metaverse and a focus on artificial intelligence.
Mr. Zuckerberg's changes are visible on social media. Photos of him testifying before Congress, uncomfortably dressed in a suit and tie, have been replaced by videos of him sporting long hair, gold chains, competing in extreme sports and occasionally hunting for his own food. . Mehta's lengthy Facebook posts about his commitment to democracy, which were harsh on lawyers, are no longer visible. Instead, they posted sarcastic responses to famous athletes and videos showing the company's latest AI efforts in threads.
“This shows that Mark Zuckerberg feels that society is more accepting of the liberal, right-leaning views he has always held,” said Mark Zuckerberg, who previously worked at Facebook. said Katie Harvath, CEO of technology consulting firm Anchor Change. “This is an evolved return to his political roots.”
Mr. Zuckerberg has long been a pragmatist who goes where the political winds blow. He flipped on how much political content Facebook and Instagram users should see, having previously said the social networks should be about fun and relatable content from family and friends, but on Tuesday. said Meta will display more personalized political content.
Mr. Zuckerberg has told close executives that he is happy with the company's new direction. Two Meta executives who spoke with Zuckerberg last week said the latest steps would limit Meta's ability to monitor and moderate content and return to its original views on free speech and expression. It is believed that this was done.
Mr. Zuckerberg was never comfortable with the involvement of outside fact-checkers, academics and researchers within the company, one executive said. He now believes many of the steps taken after the 2016 election were mistakes, both executives said.
“Fact checkers are far too politically biased and have destroyed more trust than they've built,” Zuckerberg said in a video on Tuesday, echoing long-held statements from Republican leaders about ending the fact-checking program. did. .
Mehta declined to comment.
People who have known Mr. Zuckerberg for decades, after he dropped out of Harvard in 2004 to launch Facebook, liked to read books praising free expression and the free market system. He is described as a natural liberal. As his company grew, so did Mr. Zuckerberg's pressure to grow. They were more responsive to complaints from world leaders and civil society groups that they were not doing enough to moderate the content on their platforms.
Crises such as the genocide in Myanmar, where Facebook was accused of allowing the spread of hate speech against Rohingya Muslims, have forced Mr Zuckerberg to expand his coordination team and define rules for speech on the social network. I was forced to.
He was coached by those close to him, including Meta's former chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, to become more involved in politics. After the 2016 election, Mr. Zuckerberg embarked on a public campaign to clear his name and take back the company. He held regular meetings with civic leaders, invited politicians to his headquarters, introduced transparency tools like CrowdTangle, and introduced fact checkers.
In 2017, he announced he was conducting a “listening tour” across the United States to “gain a broader perspective” on how Americans use Facebook. Campaign-like photo opportunities with farmers and autoworkers led to speculation that he was running for political office.
Despite his efforts, Zuckerberg continued to be blamed for misinformation and lies spread on Facebook and Instagram.
In October 2019, Zuckerberg began to push back. In a speech at Georgetown University, he said Facebook was created to give people a voice.
“I'm here today because I believe we must continue to defend freedom of expression,” he said.
In 2021, after the January 6 riot erupted at the U.S. Capitol after the presidential election, Mehta was once again accused of hosting a speech that incited violence. Two weeks later, Zuckerberg told investors he was “considering steps” to reduce political content across Facebook.
His evolution since then has been steady. Executives who encouraged Mr. Zuckerberg to get directly involved in politics, including Mr. Sandberg, have left the company. Those closest to him are now rooting for him to focus on his own interests, including extreme sports, rapping for his wife and furthering his company's AI efforts.
Zuckerberg spoke for nearly 90 minutes about his love of technology in a podcast interview recorded live in September in front of an audience of 6,000 people in San Francisco. He said his company should have rejected accusations that it was responsible for social ills.
“I think the political miscalculation was a 20-year mistake,” he said. He added that it could take another 10 years to get his brand back to where it wants to be.
“We will get through this and come out stronger,” Zuckerberg said.
