His clean-cut hair has grown out, his college kid hoodie is now a gold chain, and his politics have changed drastically.
Facebook and Instagram boss Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday accused governments and so-called legacy media of pushing censorship, and vowed to take his world-dominating platforms back to their “roots.”
“We are restoring free expression on our platforms,” he stressed in a video posted on his social networks on Tuesday, in which he announced the end of fact-checking in the US.
The out-of-the-blue pivot to Trumpian talking points has shocked many of Zuckerberg’s close watchers, but the tech pioneer’s sudden association with the right isn’t the first time he’s moved to maintain his dominance on social media Are.
And it may also reflect a position that is closer to their political inclinations. Since the early days of Facebook, when it comes to pursuing the interests of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and now Threads, Zuckerberg has always been eager to lead without any burden.
From the beginning, Zuckerberg has surrounded himself with liberal Silicon Valley voices, including longtime advisers Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen, Meta’s longest-serving board member.
But Facebook’s success as it grew from a college networking site to the world’s primary communications platform quickly brought scandal and forced Zuckerberg to take action to prevent government interference.
Fact-checking and strict content moderation, which Zuckerberg said Tuesday he was “getting rid of,” were born out of such scandals.
Following the 2016 US presidential election, widespread criticism regarding misinformation on the platform, particularly regarding foreign interference and viral false stories, prompted Facebook to implement a fact-checking program.
“The bottom line is this: We take misinformation seriously,” Zuckerberg wrote at the time.
The initiative represents a significant change in Facebook’s approach toward content moderation, which has always been an afterthought or even a source of disdain for Silicon Valley disruptors.
The Cambridge Analytica scandal in late 2010, which revealed the unauthorized harvesting of millions of Facebook users’ private data, further intensified the investigation and resulted in Zuckerberg being subpoenaed before Congress and Facebook content policies being tightened.
‘kissing the ring’
Since then, Zuckerberg has demonstrated increasing political acumen, managing to avoid significant US government regulation while cooperating with politicians and courting an angry public.
And despite the bad headlines, the sites’ platform’s user base has only grown over the past few years.
For some, Tuesday’s surprise announcement is still a ploy to keep the government at bay, except that this time the political tide has turned toward Trump, who has made repeated threats against Zuckerberg and his opponents on liberal issues. Has been accused of supporting too much.
“It’s a case of kissing the ring,” said technical analyst Carolina Milanesi.
“He’s doing everything he can to make sure Trump leaves him alone.”
An even more surprising turn is that his pivot to the right puts Zuckerberg in line with Elon Musk, who has become a close ally of Trump but is Zuckerberg’s rival.
Recently, both men vowed to fight each other in a mixed martial arts cage fight after their chest-thumping rivalry got ridiculous.
“There’s kind of this giant, tech billionaires meeting with Trump and the right wing, and it’s embracing this idea of censorship,” Kate Klonick, associate professor of law at St. John’s University Law School, told the Lawfare panel.
Others suggest that Zuckerberg fears Musk will take on Trump.
“There’s probably a bit of billionaire jealousy,” said Andrew Selepak, a media professor at the University of Florida.
The stakes are huge, especially as Zuckerberg competes with Musk and other tech giants in advancing artificial intelligence.
But to Selepak, Zuckerberg “seems more honest” when it comes to Tuesday’s U-turn.
“It seems like he’s making a political transition, somewhat like Musk,” who previously supported Democrats primarily because of concerns about climate change.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
