30 Comments

Probably more to do with MZ getting a sense of which way the wind is blowing.

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My thought exactly. FB algorithms probably indicate better than polls what is happening and he is getting ahead of the curve.

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merely adjusting his sails...

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And covering their ass. Zuckerberg's statement is replete with lies of omission, partial truths and obfuscations.

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He also confessed in part to Rogan about the FBI -ELVIS guy last year. He seems to me to be a fence rider, and fearful. He was intensely working on AI around the same time or maybe virtual reality projects.

Anyway good call on the Aspen collaboration- very sus.

Live not by lies just tell the truth!

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Here's what would happen to Mark Zuckerberg in an egalitarian society of truth, fairness, mutual aid, and REAL (not fake) democracy: https://johnspritzler.substack.com/p/how-might-a-genuine-democracy-deal?

And here's the way out of the plutocracy (domination by the few over the many) https://www.pdrboston.org/mr-billionaire

And here https://www.pdrboston.org/egalitarianism

The most logical, wise, practical and pro-human pro-freedom pro-prosperity way out of the plutocracy that i know of..

PS. The link to the substack (for further discussion) is at the top of that page.

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Thank you for this article, Andrew. You are connecting some sinister dots.

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Look, I think this is a terrific essay.

But credit MZ for admitting he made mistakes about disinformation. Rare integrity from the white progressive left.

Unlike the smarmy rich crowd at Aspen.

Or the 51 intelligence bots who crowed that Hunter's laptop was disinfo.

Or the major media entities that awarded themselves prizes for fetid stories about Golden Showers and Russkies.

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Integrity? Maybe, but probably fear and trying to mitigate consequences.

But he has to be aware of the blow back from his “tribe” for even speaking at all.

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I'd b surprised to find "integrity" on autopsy. Consider how MZ got Facebook in the first place. When people show you who they are...

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He’s jockeying to be seen as a victim rather than an accomplice.

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Good point, think what the thousands of far-left FB employees would / could do, if left to their own devices.

Makes one wonder what motivated Z’s conversion (he’s no Musk).

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Motivation : may be the (strong) possibility of Trump as president?

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I’m just a random reader and likely haven’t been following this as closely as you - but you reference this Yoel guy from Twitter also attended the exercise.

From what I’ve seen from the Twitter files, he was not a fan of the govt’s efforts to censor and on more than one occasion seemed to be advocating internally for Twitter to publicly push back.

This, as well as my own experience dealing with govts and regulators here in Europe in a somewhat adjacent field (Internet infrastructure), causes me to imagine a scenario where Zuckerberg is (basically) being honest and upfront here.

It’s not hard to imagine they might have been “invited” to attend - with the understanding that it was certainly in FB’s interest to do so.

Also, from a tactical/communications perspective, referencing this in Zuck’s letter would have made the message much more convoluted and undermine his goal of pushing back on govt pressure to censor.

Slightly more more outlandish add on from a tactical perspective - the govt knows what he knows. He might be withholding details about participation in these “wargames” and other details as cards he can play to up the ante if needed.

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I think Durov’s arrest in France gave him a scare and prompted to protect himself and go public. Now, if he is prosecuted, it will look like he resisted the government and told the truth, and that’s why they are punishing him. Also, his letter may be interpreted as a threat to the administration that he has a lot more to reveal, and they should live him alone, otherwise he would go public with more.

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Facebook was already censoring some of the people/accounts that would eventually be involved in the covid discussion since they were "anti-vaxxers" and Facebook does not allow that info to be shared freely on its platform. The government pressure is a convenient cover for doing what they have always done and still continue to do to those who challenge the medical and pharmaceutical industry narrative.

Look at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative with their goal of eradicating infectious diseases by supporting vaccine development and distribution.

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"The government pressure is a convenient cover for doing what they have always done and still continue to do to those who challenge the medical and pharmaceutical industry narrative."

Great point. Facebook/Meta doesn't need any, or much, coercion from the government to do what it wants to do ... and will continue to do.

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"Zuck" is a coward and a shill. It's written all over his face. I'll trust him as far as I can throw him. With one hand behind my back. Deleted (ha!) my fB profile years ago for this reason. Sheep need grass and he's the shepherd. Sad.

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No honor among thieves. Once they get caught with their hands in the cookie jar they turn on each other and point fingers. But all of this is to bring about a world of corporatism tyrannical socialism where big companies and politicians scheme together to control citizens’ lives.

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Facebook. Who else worked at Facebook closely with Zuck, Nick Clegg, Rob Flaherty AND the Biden administration? Actually worked at Facebook in a lead regulatory compliance position AND led the Biden transition team during the same time the Laptop from Hell story was being suppressed?

Jessica Hertz.

Why isn't she under any investigatory spotlight? The former Facebook regulatory counsel who's work entailed coordination with government officials to implement regulations, directives and mandates. A former Obama administration official. Former top aide to VP Biden. She headed up Biden's transition team, staff search - every single major Biden administration personnel hiring decision and appointment nomination went through her. And then she became the Biden's Staff Secretary, a lawyer's job once held by John Podesta in the Clinton administration. Arguably a more powerful administration job than even a Chief of Staff. And for kicks and grins she's a former law clerk to Justice Sotomayer - who later officiated her wedding.

If you don't know who Jessica Hertz is you ought to. Direct working relationships with Clegg, Flaherty and Biden. And no doubt with Zuckerberg. If she isn't at the center of any Biden administration censorship activity of Covid info investigation, the suppression of the Hunter Biden Laptop story before the 2020 election then investigative malpractice is being done. Get to know her through reading each one of these links. The dots connect themselves:

https://web.archive.org/web/20201001160154/https://www.law.columbia.edu/faculty/jessica-hertz

https://nypost.com/2020/10/01/joe-biden-hires-facebooks-jessica-hertz-for-transition-team

https://www.vox.com/recode/22206646/joe-biden-jessica-hertz-facebook-staff-secretary-big-tech

https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/bidens-progressive-appointees-watch-out-below-the-radar

https://bluetent.us/articles/governing/cass-sunstein-biden-white-house-oira

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10086113/Bidens-staff-secretary-quits-Former-lawyer-Facebook-leave-White-House-coming-days.html

https://web.archive.org/web/20221011171855/https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/ex-biden-facebook-attorney-joining-shopify-as-general-counsel-1

In those stories you'll learn that she has more interesting connections. She's a Cass Sunstein protégé. Cass ran OIRA, "the cockpit of government," as he describes. OIRA coordinates Federal, State and Local government communications, streamlines regulatory policy compliance between ALL federal agencies. OIRA is a perfect central hub to coordinate things like pandemic responses. Why Sunstein liked it so much. And Jessica Hertz worked with him there before moving to VP Biden's office.

No doubt you know Cass Sunstein. And his wife, Samantha Powers, current USAID head. USAID works with international media organizations and with media in nations to consolidate power behind governments the US supports or destabilize and overthrow governments the US opposes. Color revolutions. The media arm that suppresses free speech and pushes US-approved propaganda. Same terrain that suppression of free speech and propaganda push in the US that the Twitter Files and Facebook admission are on. Sames. What's the possibility you examine Jessica Hertz's role right in the middle of it. A key role. As yet unnamed by any of the free speech investigators. You're poking around at some of the major players in this scandal. But not one of the most important ones.

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Fascism sucks, but it do pay gud.

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I call it “rats fleeing a sinking ship”. Quite a lot of them.

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He’s an untrustworthy nerd.

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It seems likely that Hunter Biden was/is a foolish person, maybe corrupt, I don't care. What I do care about is the notion that people in high places who knew the truth of the matter deliberately coerced others to wilfully suppress the truth about Hunter's activities by claiming that another nation was responsible for the charade. Zuckerberg may not have known about the actions of his mignons but ultimately he is vicariously responsible for their misdeeds.

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Yep. This is all we need to know. Meta/Facebook are eager to block the truth. In other words, they want dangerous lies and crimes to continue without the public knowing this.

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