(Julianna Frieman, Headline USA) Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, claimed on Wednesday’s episode of his podcast that President-elect Donald Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk forced a free speech U-turn on Meta’s social media platforms.
Mark Zuckerberg’s big tech company announced early Tuesday that it will get rid of its fact-checkers, which executives admitted led to political censorship, on Facebook and Instagram.
After Meta moved to replace its biased fact-checkers with a “Community Notes” system like on Musk’s X, Cruz credited Trump, who was banned for years on Zuckerberg’s social media platforms, and Musk, who reformed Twitter, for the company’s changes.
NEW: Mark Zuckerberg announces massive new changes at META, admits the company went too far with censoring Americans.
Good.
Zuckerberg also said they are moving the content moderation team from California to Texas.
Here is what will be changing at Meta:
1. Meta will be… pic.twitter.com/RJelCRf3S5
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 7, 2025
“Facebook has been a very bad actor. They have engaged in rampant censorship of conservatives,” he said, noting the company’s crackdown on COVID-19 skeptics and Hunter Biden laptop story.
Meta Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan confirmed Tuesday on Fox News that the Biden administration put “a lot of pressure” on Facebook and Instagram to censor COVID-19 “humor and satire.”
Facebook has censored conservatives for years, but suddenly, it is reversing course and is now saying that it will defend free speech.
I will be watching very closely to see if Facebook's actions line up with its words.https://t.co/C7uRxAR8ts pic.twitter.com/JjIOp9gJCo
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) January 8, 2025
Cruz called Meta’s past behavior on free speech “quite terrible,” but said he has “some degree of hope” for the future.
“Number one, you said they’re kissing up to Trump. That’s clearly true,” the senator said. “And we’re seeing all across corporate America. Corporate America freaking out, recognizing that Trump was coming back in the White House with a Republican Senate, a Republican House, and we’re seeing corporate America at least saying they’re changing paths.”
On Verdict, @benfergusonshow and I analyze Facebook's announcement that it will no longer censor free speech.
Additionally, we break down what is going on with Panama, Greenland, and Canada.
Don't miss this important episode 👇https://t.co/gY7rsWV5Jy pic.twitter.com/AQi31tLFBs
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) January 8, 2025
Since Trump won a second term, Big Tech CEOs from companies including Amazon, Apple and OpenAI donated six figures to the Republican’s inauguration fund and met with him at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
“I think that is a real driver here. That Facebook finally realized that there was a new sheriff in town and that they were on the wrong side of things,” Cruz said.
The senator added that Musk’s success in buying Twitter in 2022 and rebranding it as X was a massive dynamic contributing to the changes he discussed.
Facebook Says "We Will STOP Censoring Conservatives", plus Greenland, Panama, & Canada. @benfergusonshow and I break it all down on Verdict. Available wherever you get your podcasts. https://t.co/gY7rsWV5Jy
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) January 8, 2025
“Twitter has now become the public square. Because Elon stopped censoring and allowing people to speak, the pressure put on Facebook and other platforms is enormous,” he told his Verdict listeners.
Cruz called Meta kowtowing to the incoming Trump administration “the consequence of competition from X via Elon Musk.”
“For the past decade, Big Tech has been far too eager to censor and silence. I hope that Meta will now join X in fighting to protect free speech for everyone,” Cruz said.
Julianna Frieman is a freelance writer published by the Daily Caller, Headline USA, The Federalist, and the American Spectator. Follow her on Twitter at @JuliannaFrieman.
