Tech

Pelosi: Facebook ‘Schmoozed’ With Trump To Avoid Scrutiny Of Zuckerberg’s Business Empire

REUTERS/Leah Millis

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Chris White Tech Reporter
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested Thursday that Facebook curried favor with President Donald Trump to avoid regulatory scrutiny.

“All they want are their tax cuts and no antitrust action against them,” Pelosi said at a press conference when asked if she worries about Facebook’s motives leading up to the 2020 election. She also claimed the tech company “schmoozed” with Trump to avoid an antitrust probe.

WATCH:

Pelosi and liberal pundits pounced on CEO Mark Zuckerberg in June 2019 when the company refused to nix a doctored video clip of the California lawmaker. (RELATED: Liberals Pounce After Facebook Exec Explains Why Doctored Pelosi Video Is Staying Up)

The video artificially slowed Pelosi’s speech and mannerisms. It was identified as a fake, but not before it had been shared across multiple social media platforms. Facebook determined that providing customers with accurate information is more important than eliminating the video.

Pelosi also took time during Thursday’s press conference to criticize the Silicon Valley giant for how it handled Russian disinformation agents in 2016.

“They didn’t even check on the money from Russia in the last election and everyone thought they should,” she said, referring to money Russian hackers spent on Facebook advertisements. Pelosi’s comments also come after Facebook refused calls to prohibit political ads ahead of the election.

Facebook ultimately banned deepfake videos on Jan. 7, though the tech company’s policy won’t apply to the altered video of Pelosi. Company officials said the video doesn’t qualify as a deepfake, but Facebook is still limiting the doctored Pelosi video’s distribution.

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