Zuckerberg reveals what FBI told Facebook ahead of Hunter Biden laptop story
Center for American Liberty founder Harmeet Dhillon says this demands an investigation on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight.'
Twitter exploded after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg claimed in a Thursday podcast appearance the FBI warned Facebook about "Russian propaganda" before the Hunter Biden laptop story dropped in 2020.
Speaking on an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Zuckerberg explained, "The FBI, I think, basically came to us - some folks on our team - and was like, 'Hey, just so you know, like, you should be on high alert… We thought that there was a lot of Russian propaganda in the 2016 election. We have it on notice that, basically, there's about to be some kind of dump of that's similar to that. So just be vigilant.’"
Zuckerberg acknowledged that "the distribution on Facebook was decreased" of the New York Post’s story about Hunter Biden's laptop, noting, "fewer people saw it than would've otherwise."
When asked by Joe Rogan how many people had been deprived of the information, Zuckerberg responded, "I don't know off the top of my head, but it's - it's meaningful."
TOPSHOT - Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg looks on during the VivaTech (Viva Technology) trade fair in Paris, on May 24, 2018. (GERARD JULIEN/AFP via Getty Images)
Many commentators saw the incident as a damning example of Big Government and Big Tech working in unison.
"Collusion," charged Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon.
"The FBI rigged the 2020 election," declared Fox News contributor and editor-in-chief of The Federalist Mollie Hemingway.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., tweeted, "The FBI colluded with Big Tech to silence news stories weeks before the 2020 election in an attempt to control your access to information. Democrats in Congress have been intentionally ignoring the facts. When Republicans are back in charge, we will hold all of them accountable."
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., blasted the FBI, tweeting, "So the FBI preemptively warned Facebook off Hunter Biden laptop reporting. This same agency effectively laundered Russian disinfo in the 2016 election in the form of Steele dossier. And later lied to a court to get wiretaps."
Byron York, Fox News contributor and chief political correspondent for the Washington Examiner, explained, "In the final weeks of the 2020 contest, the FBI was on the lookout for anything that might damage the Biden campaign. Warned Facebook. Facebook acted on warning and suppressed an accurate story about Hunter Biden."
"Interesting that Facebook suppressed none of the fake negative stories about Trump as a result of this FBI warning," noted Republican advisor and strategist Matt Wolking.
Hunter Biden Photo credit: Getty Images
DISGRACED EX-FBI AGENT PETER STRZOK REJECTS ‘NONSENSE’ IDEA THAT AGENCY IS ‘ONE-SIDED’
"This is big, but to be clear, he says the FBI made a general request, it wasn’t specifically about the Hunter Biden story. Zuck probably recognizes that this is a good political moment to throw the FBI under the bus. And they absolutely deserve it! But that’s my take," Reason editor Robby Soave pointed out.
Blaze Media CEO Tyler Cardon tweeted, "I get it. Finding out the FBI colluded with social media giants to bury an explosive story that may have changed the outcome of an election sounds bad, but context is everything! The FBI had to do it because Orange Man is, like, really really bad."
Commentator David Reaboi slammed powerful institutions as an "ideological cartel" for appearing to coordinate politically.
"I have been talking for a while about what I call a government, media and corporate ‘ideological cartel’ that doesn’t require command-and-control and acts out its torments of the Right motivated by the Leftist hive-mind. But what if there’s ALSO government command-and-control?"
"Wow. Actual censorship," said radio host Dana Loesch.
"Nothing to see here, just a billionaire with a monopoly on information was censoring accurate news stories at the behest of the FBI to favor a political party & outcome," tweeted comedian Jimmy Dore.
A man with a Trump 2024 flag is pictured outside Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida following an FBI raid on Donald Trump's private home. (Alon Skuy/Fox News Digital)
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Journalist and commentator Kristi Leigh lamented that there will likely be no consequences for America's established institutions, asking, "Any bets on if ANYTHING will be done now that there’s even more evidence the FBI meddled in an election 'threatening our democracy!' ?!"