Below is my column in Fox.com on the potentially historic change in policy at Meta to restore free speech protections. As one of the longest and loudest critics of the company over its censorship history, it is admittedly hard to trust. However, an alliance of Mark Zuckerberg with Elon Musk could prove the most important development for free speech
Here is the column:
“Faithful friends are hard to find.” For the free speech community, those words from Shakespeare have long been tragically true. Indeed, until Elon Musk bought Twitter (now X), we were losing ground around the world to an unprecedented anti-free speech coalition of government, corporate, media, and academic interests.
Now, Musk may have added a major new ally that could help turn the tide for free speech: Mark Zuckerberg.
In a new video, Meta’s CEO announced that the company would adopt X standards and restore free speech protections across Facebook, Instagram, and Meta platforms. Meta will also end its third-party fact-checking program, introduce a ‘community notes’ system, and focus on removing criminal and fraudulent material—the very guidelines proposed by some of us in prior years.
For the free speech community, it was like the United States entering World War II to support Great Britain. Where Musk stopped the progress of the global anti-free speech movement, Zuckerberg could actually help us regain ground around the world.
As one of Zuckerberg’s most vocal critics over free speech, it is admittedly hard to trust. We all love redemptive sinners, but it would be more impressive if the redemption preceded the apprehension.
So allow me a brief cathartic moment…
In the last few years, a mix of House investigations and litigation has forced more of the censorship system under the Biden Administration into public view. That is expected to draw even greater attention with the continued discovery in Missouri v. Biden, showing years of false statements about the extent of this government-corporate alliance across social media platforms.
In my recent book, The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage, I wrote about Zuckerberg and Meta’s record on censorship, including their failure (until recently) to release the Facebook files.
Meta resisted efforts to uncover this evidence for years, even after Musk released the Twitter Files and revealed a censorship system described by one court as perfectly “Orwellian.”
While Zuckerberg portrayed Meta as an unwilling partner in this censorship system in his video, he and the company ignored many years of objections from many of us regarding the critical role the company plays in targeting and censoring opposing viewpoints.
Facebook even ran a creepy ad campaign to try to convince young people to embrace what they call “content modification” as part of their evolution with technology. It did not work.
When the anti-free speech movement targeted Musk, Zuckerberg did nothing for years. Fearing that other companies might restore free speech protections, members of Congress, including now Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), sent a chilling letter to Facebook stating that it should not even consider such a move or risk becoming “part of our ongoing oversight efforts.”
In a November 2020 Senate hearing, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), D-Conn., warned Zuckerberg and other CEOs that he and his Senate colleagues would not tolerate any “backsliding or retrenching” by “failing to take action against dangerous disinformation.”
While Musk defied those threats, the pressure seemed to work with Zuckerberg. It was not until the Republicans won both houses and the White House that Zuckerberg and Meta decided that free speech was worth fighting for.
In his exclusive interview with Fox News, Meta’s chief global affairs officer, Joel Kaplan, admitted that the Trump election changed the situation for Meta: “We have a new administration coming in that is far from pressuring companies to censor and [is more] a huge supporter of free expression.”
It is a chilling statement if one thinks of what might have happened if Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, arguably the most anti-free speech ticket in history, had won. The suggestion is that the new spring at Meta would have turned into a frozen tundra for free speech.
Around the world, free speech is in a free fall. Speech crimes and censorship have become the norm in the West. A new industry of “disinformation” experts has commoditized censorship, making millions in the targeting and silencing of others. An anti-free speech culture has taken root in government, higher education, and the media.
We will either hold the line now or we will lose this indispensable right for future generations. Zuckerberg could make this a truly transformative moment but it will take more than a passing meta-culpa.
We need Zuckerberg now more than ever. So, with that off my chest, I can get to what I have longed to say: Mr. Zuckerberg, welcome to the fight.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”
Upstate, those so called “leftist friends” negative comments actually serve as a steady reminder that this movement is on the right path.
can the Trump admin over come all the road blocks the Biden admin has put in place?
While the courts will be busy, I’m optimistic that two things will take place leading up to the midterms: 1. new legislation will support Trump’s agenda. 2. Opposition to his agenda will identify those within his administration and those in Congress, on both sides of the aisle that need to be removed.
OLLY,
That is a good point. What is truly amazing is the number of fails they have had. All the claims Trump would be in orange by the end of last summer, Fani was going to spank Trump’s fanny, Trump was going to lose the election by a landslide, and on and on. Now watching more and more companies ditch their DEI programs. States ditching their DEI programs or DEI graduation requirement mandates and today’s move by Zuckerberg looks like things are changing for the better!
Well said about your two points. As I have stated in the past, when a party, either or any party, no longer represents it’s voters, it is the voters right to vote for someone else.
As I have stated in the past, when a party, either or any party, no longer represents it’s voters, it is the voters right to vote for someone else.
Excellent Upstate. If, and that’s a big if, Meta follows through, the ability to continue to run a psyop campaign on the American people will have one less channel to operate. The People, by a very large majority, rejected those efforts under the Biden regime. Those numbers will only grow larger over the next two years. Election integrity will be crucial.
OLLY,
To me it is going to be interesting to see what the progressive leftist do, say for the next two years and will that alienate even more Americans or even traditional Democrats to the point traditional Democrats switch to Independent. Recent poll showed Democrats split nearly 50/50 as those who identify as progressive and those who identify as traditional. I know traditional Democrats like the good professor and my own sister are definitely not on board with the progressive agenda.
To me it is going to be interesting to see what the progressive leftist do, say for the next two years and will that alienate even more Americans or even traditional Democrats to the point traditional Democrats switch to Independent.
Upstate, for the true progressive Democrats, they have no choice but to continue their fight against losing the administrative state they’ve created over the last century. They’re not just facing their loss of power and control over it, they are realistically facing it being gutted. In two years, they may very well not have an agenda that would appeal to 30% of the voters. Traditional Democrats and Left leaning Independents are more likely to oust the progressive Democrats, while the America First Republicans will do the same to the progressives in their party. The rest of the blood-letting will be in those non-governmental institutions that progressives hijacked over the last 50 years.
Or, none of that will happen and we’ll get a civil war after all. 😒
In two years, they may very well not have an agenda that would appeal to more than30% of the voters.
Personally, I have little trust in people like Zuckerberg. They think they’re more clever by half than everybody else. This new plan has a subplan. I can only guess. But you can bet CYA is a big part of his strategy.
@gdonaldallen
Good. You shouldn’t, because he is full of sheet and simply sees which way the wind is blowing. No changes to Facebook or Instagram’s terms of service will be forthcoming, I assure you, and the people censoring over there have exactly zero intentions of stopping. Zuckerburg has not had a sudden epiphany and seen the error of his ways. These corporations are not your ‘friends’; they are looking out for themselves and their own internal culture, and that is it. 🤷🏻♂️
With the good Professor’s metaphor of this move being like when the US joined Britain in the WWII war effort I will add that Turley’s continued fight for free speech is like his own version of the Lend Lease Act.
My a$$. Zuckerburg is riding coattails. One need look no further than the recent AI moves on Facebook and Instagram. Seriously: Zuck is a certified sociopath, no different than globalist darling Eric Schmidt, and he can s*ck it. Dude lied under oath more than once. Pathetic, and not fooling anyone. Likely just covering his a** because he knows what’s coming. Watch for many more of these ‘pivots’ on the left in the coming days, and don’t believe any of them, because it is straight up boosheet. These people, especially Zuckerburg, are scum.
Has the madness finally ended? Musk was the cure to the social contagion. Now if we can get the feds to squeeze professors teaching un-American nonsense.
@mlopezlaw
No. Zuckerburg is a certified liar, and this is not out of step for he or his underlings. We need to pay closer attention than ever before if we expect to make it through the midterms.
Hint: Facebook and Instagram are torpedoing in user numbers while X is ascending. This is nothing more. Nothing less. They have no intention of changing their ways. Zero.
Time will tell. it’s too soon to know if Zuck is on the level.. all we have to go on is Years of his demonstrated lack of Integrity and Courage… is this the Real thing or just lip service to keep the Trump Administration from breathing down his back… WHY did he wait to see who won the Election, i.e., if he really believed in The Fight… ??
eighteenthhole,
IIRC, Zuckerberg was behind or for Trump prior to the election. Some of us, namely me, questioned if his sudden change was from his own AI telling him Trump would win. From the Twitter files and as the good professor points out, seems Facebook, Meta, Zuckerberg were under a lot of pressure from the Biden admin and others for censorship. I will take the win for today!
” Some of us, namely me, questioned if his sudden change was from his own AI telling him Trump would win.”
First, my recollection is that Zuckerburg was covering his ass on the recent election, and carefully avoiding any unambiguous endorsement (ambiguity could be his most highly developed skill). Second, as a frequent Facebook Marketplace user, I can tell you that, based on the correlation between my interests, as demonstrated by clicks, and the selection of ads that their “AI” chooses to feed me, it is just as likely to have told F’berg that Ralph Nader was going to win the election. Yes, it is that bad.
Right, he just rolls with the tide not caring at all.
This is big.
(Hopefully, a sincere reckoning on principle and not on pecuniary preservation.)
p.s. “meta-culpa” That was really clever, Professor Turley!
So, now we know that Prof. Turley did not vote for K. Harris and T. Walz. Whom did he vote for?
Edward, very sneaky conclusion! I like it.
“now we know that Prof. Turley did not vote for K. Harris and T. Walz”
Do we, really? Because he has been castigating Harris regularly for her anti-free-speech views, and Walz also, several times. He is on record as having voted for Democrats for President in previous elections while conceding that he was philosophically opposed to their positions or conduct. If Professor Turley makes an unambiguous statement either way about who he voted for, I will believe him, I do not think he is a liar. I do think that he is highly conflicted on some things, voting anything other than the Dem party line being one of those, and until and unless he does make such a statement, I will not come to a firm conclusion on how he cast his vote (assuming he voted), but will continue to harbor some suspicion that he voted for Harris.
“Mr. Zuckerberg, welcome to the fight.” Well said professor! Sure, there will be a degree of questioning of his timing, but we have to take the wins we can!
Multiple(!) misspelling of “Zuckerburg” look ugly.
And that starts from the title and URL.
What Zuckerberg should be facing is a multi billion dollar class action for violating American’s first amendment rights.
Hear hear
Facebook has no obligation under the 1st amendment for you to write your screed. None, Zip, Nada.
Not sure if you know this but news flash, the 1st amendment applies to government preventing you from speaking your garbage. And here is another news flash for you. Facebook is a private company, not part of the government. Gosh, who woulda knew.
When they’re taking government monies and carrying government water for the federal propaganda machine I say they do. I would argue they were acting as an agent of the federal government by coordinating with the FBI.
Who would know?
Traveler,
Sounds like the same logic the “Separation of Church and State” crowd uses.
If our government is paying a private entity to censor viewpoints it doesn’t like/agree with, ergo it’s violating 1A’s prohibition against Congress making any law which would abridge the freedom of speech of it’s citizens.
It’s one thing if a private entity censors stuff, it’s quite another if said entity does it at the government’s behest, using taxpayer dollars.
If students can’t pray in schools because they receive federal funding, then exactly the same rule should apply to private, NGOs, who receive taxpayer funding of any kind.
If government wishes to fund NGOs to censor content it finds unfavorable, then perhaps it should permit prayer in schools?
As an aside to the lefties on this blog, here are some things to consider:
1. MAGA stands for Make America Great Again. This suggests America has been great before, and under the right leadership, and with the right policies, she can be great again. If that’s a cult, then so be it, and I’m proud to be one of it’s members.
2. Has it ever occurred to anyone that maybe Trump says some of the things he does, precisely because he knows how it’ll trigger people? I see him as this day’s Old Hickory. I dare say, were Stonewall Jackson alive today, he’d probably be hated as much as Trump. I seriously doubt Trump will use military force against either Greenland or Panama, and his reference to Justin Trudeau being the “Governor of the Great State of Canada” was brilliant, as it showed Trudeau to the the small, insignificant leader he is, and that’s probably why he’s resigning as PM.
3. Unlike Zuckerberg, I think Musk is far more sincere in his desire to promote free speech. Proof of this lies in the fact that Musk didn’t wait for an election to buy and change Twitter – he did it smack-dab in the middle of the Biden regime. Zuckie-Pooh saw how the election turned out, and is changing his tune, as he knows a massive Congressional “colonoscopy” is on the way, and he dare not be a “polyp” they find and remove.”
4. If Biden were sincere about his change of attitude on the death penalty, he would’ve cleared federal death row, instead of commuting all but 3 of the sentences. The *ONLY* reason he left 3 there is because they’re extremely well-known cases, and he knew there would be hell to pay of the highest order. I dare say virtually none of the other 37 cases are known to anyone except the offender’s relatives, and the victim’s friends and relatives.
5. All J6 defendants who committed acts of violence or vandalism, Trump shouldn’t pardon, under any circumstances. The remainder shouldn’t be pardoned, rather they should either have their sentences commuted to time served, or if possible, all remaining cases should simply be vacated, and Trump should insist on a settlement with those parties, to make them financially whole again, and that should be at taxpayer expense. Lastly, Trump should be the bigger man and not pardon himself. To do so would be to admit guilt and give creedance to the legal gymnastics Alvin Bragg and Co. had to perform to even get Trump into a Manhattan courtroom in the first place. I may be wrong, but once the statute of limitations runs on an offense, it’s like “double-Jeopardy Lite” and can’t just be magically resurrected and converted into felonies, and states certainly can’t adjudicate federal cases. Biden’s own DOJ declined to charge Trump and that fact, in and of itself, speaks volumes.
Trump is an imperfect man, to be sure – fact is we all are. That being said, I was confronted with 2 choices – 1. a man who, by all accounts, may have enriched himself and family to the tune of millions, from China and Mid-East concerns, and God knows what other malfeasons he’s up to his eyeballs in, or 2. an imperfect man whose built a skyline – I’ll take the imperfect man with a skyline to his name, every time. Lefties don’t like that? Well, that’s tough. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.
P.s. As long as there are tests, there will always be prayer in schools.
I’m sorry, but I just can’t believe him.
whimsical: Point well taken.
I likewise wish to consider whether his position is based on principle or rather on pecuniary interest/speculation?
I don’t think Mark Zuckerberg knows a principle well enough to recognize it if it jumped up and bit his nose off.
Thanks to Musk for buying Twitter and exposing their censorship machine…maybe this will curtain the momentum to censor all speech.
“Zuck suggests that there will be “less concern” about the bias of content moderation teams in Texas than in California.”
This makes sense,. Everybody knows that truth depends on where you stand.
Free speech will be the cutting edge of “The Revenge of the Deplorables.” (Hat tip: HRC)
Dear Mr. Turley, thankful to hear of this news. The Left thought they had all social media platforms tied up in their favor. Glad to see they have seen the light!!
There is no “enlightening” progressives once they have drunk the kool-aid. Remember; the dem/prog creed; the ends always justify the means and the ends here is to act recalcitrant only as long as needed or just pretend to do so. You can NEVER trust a member of the prog/left cult.
“Meta Culpa” funny, there’s a lot of that going on lately. On the street we’d call it covering your ass.
Don’t get too excited. The “tide turning” is only temporary and opportunistic. If the next president brings back censorship, which, according to the invisible law of power dictates will happen, Zuckerberg will suddenly have another mea-culpa moment.
…and the cure for that is to not let them back in power by eliminating most of their methods of “managing” elections to their own benefit. Also limiting their ability to commit lawfare and control the education industry.
Fingers crossed
Awesome! This America First movement is on a roll.
Absolutely, we need more right wing racist sexist posts. Thank you zuck. Just too bad Gaetz isn’t going to the AG. We could have also legalized sex sex minors.
“We could have also legalized sex sex [sic] minors.” That would be good news for Bill Clinton.
Absolutely. Too bad trump didn’t make rape a male right then he wouldn’t have to pay E. Jean Carol nearly $100M.
OLLY,
America First movement is right! We have to keep the energy going forward! Ignore all our leftist friends negative comments as they add nothing to this great change happening in America. It looks by actions happening all across America we have turned a corner. The question is, can the Trump admin over come all the road blocks the Biden admin has put in place? I do not know, but we have to keep going forward through the storm.