Mark Zuckerberg Says That the Idea That Facebook Has Some Sort Of a Secret Deal with Trump Is Pretty Ridiculous

Has Mark Zuckerberg cut a secret deal with Donald Trump that allowed US President’s incendiary posts to on the platform in the hope that Facebook will not become the Trump’s next target? These types of rumors have been swirling for several months. However, Zuckerberg slammed speculation that the social media giant has some sort of a deal with President Trump. In an interview, he told Axios’ Mike Allen that he has also heard this rumor, and he said that there is no deal of any kind. CEO Facebook said that the whole idea of a deal is pretty ridiculous.

The theory that CEO Facebook and Donald Trump have some understanding that allows Trump free rein on Facebook in return for looser regulation was alleged by sources in a report published by the New York Times. The report was released last month and has been gaining traction recently, specifically after the social media giant’s handling of posts made by Trump on Facebook’s platform.

After George Floyd was killed back in May of this year, a massive protest gained momentum, Trump posted on Facebook that ‘when the looting starts, the shooting starts.’ Twitter stated that this is against its policies on violence, however, Facebook CEO denied to remove or flag Trump’s posts, citing Facebook’s commitment to free speech on its platform.

However, the issue has spiraled in the weeks since, and major brands such as Coca-Cola and Microsoft pulled their ads from the platform. Furthermore, Facebook’s move has also angered civil rights groups as well as employees. Several employees and civil rights groups spoke out publicly against the company’s decision,.

Last week, CEO Facebook addressed employee displeasure at a company-wide Q&A session, states Axios. Zuckerberg noted that only because he had dinner with President Donald Trump last October did not indicate that they have some sort of deal. According to Axios, Mark Zuckerberg also stated that he meets with Donald Trump from time to time just as was with former United States President Barack Obama. Last year, NBC News reported that Donald Trump hosted Mark Zuckerberg for a secret dinner, and the dinner came just a week after Mark Zuckerberg made a speech confirming that Facebook would not fact-check political ads.

He also pointed to times in the past when the company removed posts by Donald Trump from Facebook’s platform. Zuckerberg highlighted the ways in which Facebook has been scrutinized under the current administration including antitrust investigations as well as $5 billion fine imposed on the company.


Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Read next: Mark Zuckerberg’s sunscreen-covered picture has turned into a new Internet Meme.