Zuckerberg Appears on Joe Rogan Podcast for Nearly 3 Hour Interview

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta and Facebook, appeared on the Joe Rogan Podcast for nearly three hours Friday, discussing how the Biden administration pressured Meta to censor social media content with a special focus on COVID-19-related content restrictions.

The Details: During the interview, Zuckerberg recalled rapid policy changes during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying, “It was brutal.” He explained how Biden officials called Meta executives to “scream” and “curse” while demanding that any negative content surrounding COVID-19 vaccines be removed. Zuckerberg also voiced his optimism for incoming President Trump, saying “I think he just wants America to win.”

For Context: Meta, on the same day as the Rogan podcast, officially ended Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs, and on Tuesday did away with fact-checkers to utilize an approach similar to X’s Community Notes, drawing both praise and criticism. Meta also donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund last month.

How the Media Covered It: Center and left sources like Newsweek (Center bias) and Axios (Lean Left) tended to frame their articles in ways that portrayed Zuckerberg as the one attacking the Biden administration. Newsweek said Zuckerberg "unloaded" on Biden. Axios said Zuckerberg’s Rogan interview “was the capstone for the MAGA-fication of the man himself” and criticized his comments about Americans listening to new voices rather than traditional journalists, saying he's “calling for an end to the traditional media” that holds both him and Trump “accountable.” Right-leaning outlets, by contrast, often focused on Zuckerberg's claims of screaming and cursing from Biden officials, emphasizing the specific demands they made for content removal on the platforms.