Earlier this week, Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted that the FBI pressured Facebook into suppressing the Hunter Biden laptop story during the 2020 presidential elections.
During an interview with Joe Rogan, Zuckerberg revealed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation approached the popular social media company and warned them of so-called “Russian propaganda” shortly before the Hunter Biden laptop story broke.
The news that leaked content from the former vice-president’s son’s laptop compromised Joe Biden and sullied Hunter’s reputation was infamously stamped out in the weeks leading up to the election. After the election, the story was corroborated; some voters later confessed they would have reconsidered their support for Biden if they had known important news stories social media had suppressed – including the Hunter Biden laptop story.
“I mean, basically, the background here is 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,” Zuckerberg explained. “There was, 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 that’s similar to that. So just be vigilant.”
He admitted that “fewer people saw [the story] than would have otherwise.”
“We just kind of thought, hey, look, if the FBI, which I still view is a legitimate institution in this country, it’s like very professional law enforcement,” he continued, “they come to us and tell us that we need to be on guard about something, then I want to take that seriously.”
For the FBI, details of how the department encouraged Facebook to censor free speech during a hugely important presidential election could not have come at a worse time. In light of recent controversies, trust in the FBI is faltering. This revelation only reinforces popular distrust of the bureau.
It really is shocking that the federal government would actively seek to influence the outcome of a presidential election by restricting, even if indirectly, free speech.
The best way to end or at least rein in these agencies and departments that have become a threat to our freedoms is to call a Convention of States. Article V of the Constitution enables the states to call a convention for proposing amendments that would reinforce Washington’s checks and balances and curb its rampant corruption.
The time to act has come. To get involved, sign the Convention of States petition below!