In a recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, Meta (META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg addressed free speech in an extensive interview. When Rogan asked how Meta’s latest moves in rolling back censorship policies were received, Zuckerberg responded candidly, “Probably depends on who you ask. But look, I’ve been working on this for a long time, and you have to do what you think is right.” He continued, “We’ve been on a long journey here. I think, at some level, you only start [a social media company] if you believe in giving people a voice. The whole point of social media is basically giving people the ability to share what they want.”

This reaffirmation of Meta’s founding ethos — “giving people a voice” — comes amid escalating scrutiny over how platforms like Facebook and Instagram manage misinformation, political content, and AI-generated media. Zuckerberg’s comments highlight the tightrope tech CEOs must walk: balancing free expression with the need to enforce platform integrity.

It also aligns with a broader shift in politics. America has increasingly shifted right, with famous figures like Elon Musk and Joe Rogan endorsing President Donald Trump in the recent election.  When Musk bought Twitter, he shifted the culture from pro-censorship to seemingly unchecked content moderation. With this shift, the social network has begun leaning substantially more to the right. 

In direct response, Meta launched Threads to capture the demand from users shifting social media platforms. But this isn’t the only time Zuckerberg has changed products or policies in response to actions by Musk or X. Musk’s criticism of other social media platforms for being pro-censorship — and touting X as a beacon for free speech — resulted in Meta rolling back its censorship policies and adopting an approach similar to Musk’s X.       

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Zuckerberg said what ultimately happened with its initial censorship policies in 2016 was not something he ever intended. It started with simple mechanisms in place to prevent bullying. But during the 2016 election, there were more and more calls for Meta to censor “misinformation.” This led to a fact-checking system in which professionals would conduct research and determine if something was “true” or “false.” Zuckerberg said he wanted this to be more about blatant and easily discernible facts like “is the earth flat?” and not partisan ideologies. However, he said that most of the fact-checkers came from the world of political commentary, so they showed bias in choosing to largely only fact-check right-wing politics. 

Zuckerberg said he was worried about “becoming this sort of decider of what is true in the world,” something he didn’t want to be. He continued, “That’s sort of a crazy position to be in for billions of people using your service.” Zuckerberg noted that nobody openly says they want misinformation, so it made sense to put in a system to combat misinformation. “We’re just going to have a system where there are these third-party fact-checkers and they can check the worst of the worst stuff,” he said. He warned that it “sort of veered from there,” and even after multiple rounds of trying to improve it, it wasn’t really possible to fix because the fact-checkers always ended up fact-checking politics. He said, looking back, “it’s something out of, you know, 1984.” 

Zuckerberg warned content moderation is definitely a “slippery slope.”

The Evolving Landscape of Content Moderation

Meta has taken several high-profile steps in recent months aimed at recalibrating its moderation strategy. The company recently launched a new Community Review Panel to increase transparency and has been piloting decentralized moderation tools on Threads, its X-like social media app.

Zuckerberg’s remarks suggest a growing awareness that content governance is no longer just a back-end compliance issue — it’s a frontline strategic concern, affecting public trust, platform engagement, and regulatory scrutiny.

While he didn’t address specific controversies, his appearance follows a string of high-profile moderation-related incidents, including internal debates around political ads and the handling of AI-generated content during the 2024 U.S. elections.

Meta Stock: Strong Fundamentals Amid Strategic Shifts

Meta Platforms continues to show resilience in the public markets despite the turbulent regulatory environment and strategic pivots. As of June 6, 2025, Meta’s stock is trading just under $700 per share, with a market capitalization exceeding $1.7 trillion. Year-to-date, the stock is up over 19%, outperforming the broader Nasdaq 100 Index.

Analysts have praised Meta’s aggressive expansion into AI infrastructure and mixed reality. The company’s Reality Labs division — once considered a cost sink — is beginning to see revenue growth, fueled by rising demand for enterprise-grade VR collaboration tools and military integration.

Broader Implications and the Road Ahead

Zuckerberg’s reflections on Rogan’s show come at a time when major tech firms face heightened global pressure. The EU’s Digital Services Act and similar legislation are forcing companies like Meta to justify — and sometimes surrender — their moderation models. Meanwhile, AI-generated content is testing the limits of the current policies.

The Meta CEO has long walked a fine line between ideals of free speech and pragmatic governance. His latest comments suggest that, at least rhetorically, he remains committed to Meta’s original mission of enabling global communication — even as the real-world execution grows increasingly complex.

Whether Meta can remain a platform for free expression while navigating rising regulatory tides remains an open question. But one thing is clear: As social platforms continue to evolve into global infrastructure, the decisions made in Menlo Park echo far beyond Silicon Valley.