Biotech entrepreneur and former GOP presidential candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy, took to X on Tuesday to express his admiration for Mark Zuckerberg, who he says has admitted his mistake by acknowledging censorship on his platform.
What Happened: Ramaswamy’s post follows Meta CEO Zuckerberg’s recent revelation that the company’s content moderation decisions on COVID-19 were shaped by past pressures from the Biden administration.
In a letter to Republican Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Zuckerberg stated his goal to avoid any political involvement. He also confirmed he will not be donating to support election infrastructure in 2024, unlike in 2020 when he and his wife contributed $400 million. These donations were criticized for allegedly benefiting Democrats.
Ramaswamy shared a video in his post in which he revealed meeting Zuckerberg at the UFC 300 fight where he had a “chat” with the tech entrepreneur. Ramaswamy revealed that Zuckerberg enjoyed fighting and said that “We had become neutered” as a country and urged the acceptance of “human instincts.”
The former presidential candidate then voiced his agreement with Zuckerberg. However, Ramaswamy steered the conversation to free speech. Ramaswamy said he urged Zuckerberg to admit that he had made a mistake with respect to free speech and in particular locking Donald Trump out of his account after the Jan.6 insurrection.
“The best kind of accountability is where you own it,” said Ramaswamy to Zuckerberg.
Why It Matters: Zuckerberg’s decision to stay politically neutral comes after a series of controversies. Earlier this year, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who owns Meta Platforms’ rival X, supported Rep. Jordan in his criticism of the Biden administration's alleged suppression of the lab leak theory, which suggests that the COVID-19 virus may have originated from a laboratory in Wuhan, China.
Former President Donald Trump also threatened to imprison Zuckerberg and other "election fraudsters" if he is re-elected, criticizing Zuckerberg in a post about the SAVE Act, a GOP-backed legislation aiming to prevent undocumented immigrants from voting in federal elections.
In a recent interview, Trump said that big technology companies like Meta Platforms Inc and Alphabet Inc have become too big and too powerful, something that supports having TikTok around for competition.
Photo by Alexandros Michailidis on Shutterstock
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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