Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has met with prominent conservatives in recent months seeking their perspectives on how his platform polices content.
Zuckerberg has met with a number of journalists, commentators, and at least one lawmaker over a number of “off the record” dinners and meetups. Zuckerberg is reportedly attempting to build relationships in Republican circles to help fend off potential pressure from President Trump’s Department of Justice.
Trump has made overtures about breaking up Zuckerberg’s company on grounds that it is an unfair monopoly, something the social media titan wants to avoid.
“The discussion in Silicon Valley is that Zuckerberg is very concerned about the Justice Department, under Bill Barr, bringing an enforcement action to break up the company,” one Silicon Valley cybersecurity expert said. “So the fear is that Zuckerberg is trying to appease the Trump administration by not cracking down on right-wing propaganda.”
[Read more: Mark Zuckerberg: Facebook likely to sue government if Elizabeth Warren wins presidency]
Others familiar with the meetings thought Zuckerberg was making an honest attempt to improve interactions conservatives have with the platform.
“My perception of [Zuckerberg] was more positive than I anticipated,” one person said. “He was receptive and thoughtful.”
The list of people on the political Right that the Facebook founder has met with includes: Town Hall political editor Guy Benson, Media Research Center founder Brent Bozell, Fox News host Tucker Carlson, American Enterprise Institute fellow Matt Continetti, Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, CNN commentator Mary Katharine Ham, talk radio host Hugh Hewitt, Daily Wire editor-in-chief Ben Shapiro, and Washington Examiner chief political correspondent Byron York.
Zuckerberg hosted each meeting at one of his California homes, where the Facebook founder and the attendees talked about “free expression, unfair treatment of conservatives, the appeals process for real or perceived unfair treatment, fact checking, partnerships, and privacy,” according to one person familiar with the discussions.
Zuckerberg is expected to testify in front of Congress on Oct. 23 on his newest venture into cryptocurrency called Libra. His appearance is his second time before Congress since his 2018 testimony over Cambridge Analytica and how his platform handles user data.
UPDATE:
Zuckerberg released a statement Monday on Facebook, responding to questions about his dinners with conservative leaders.
“There’s some press today discussing dinners I’ve had with conservative politicians, media and thinkers,” Zuckerberg said. “To be clear, I have dinners with lots of people across the spectrum on lots of different issues all the time. Meeting new people and hearing from a wide range of viewpoints is part of learning. If you haven’t tried it, I suggest you do!”
