Saturday, October 31, 2026Every claim sourced. Every source linked.
The record of what the American press got wrong, and who it helped
The Facebook Files
Confirmed

Zuckerberg's Letter to Jim Jordan: 'Government Pressure Was Wrong'

In a letter to House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, Zuckerberg wrote that Biden White House officials had pressured Meta for months in 2021 to remove COVID-19 content, and that he regretted not being more outspoken. He also said Facebook should not have demoted the Hunter Biden laptop story and that he would not repeat his 2020 election-administration donations.

Aug 26, 2024
Whose side it served: Democrats

Documents pressure from a Democratic administration and a demotion that helped Biden in 2020.

What the record shows

Zuckerberg wrote that officials, including from the White House, pressured Meta to take down 'certain COVID-19 content including humor and satire' and 'expressed a lot of frustration' when it did not agree. He wrote, 'I believe the government pressure was wrong and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it.' On the laptop, he wrote that 'the reporting was not Russian disinformation' and 'we shouldn't have demoted the story,' adding that Meta no longer temporarily demotes U.S. content while awaiting fact-checkers. He said his roughly $400 million in 2020 election-office grants, made through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, 'were designed to be non-partisan' but that some believed they benefited one party, so 'I don't plan on making a similar contribution this cycle.' House Judiciary Republicans published the letter on Aug. 26, 2024.

In their words

“I believe the government pressure was wrong”— Mark Zuckerberg, Meta CEO (letter to Rep. Jim Jordan) · source
“we shouldn't have demoted the story”— Mark Zuckerberg, Meta CEO (letter to Rep. Jim Jordan) · source
“When confronted with a deadly pandemic, this Administration encouraged responsible actions.”— White House statement · source
The other side

The White House said that 'when confronted with a deadly pandemic, this Administration encouraged responsible actions,' and that companies made their own choices. Zuckerberg also wrote that Meta made its own decisions, and critics described the letter as an effort to placate congressional Republicans before the election.

Sources

Get the daily file.