The Zuckerberg-Trump Pact: Misinformation Over Democracy

Zuckerberg courts Trump with a $1M donation, abandoning fact-checking in favour of "community notes." The marriage of tech and tyranny demands urgent scrutiny.

In the grand theatre of American democracy, a new act is unfolding, one that raises profound questions about the fragility of truth and the integrity of democratic institutions. Mark Zuckerberg, the tech visionary turned controversial tycoon, now finds himself inextricably linked with Donald Trump, a figure whose relationship with the truth has been described by experts as pathological. The recent revelation that Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund¹ has ignited a firestorm, not merely for its political implications, but for what it symbolises: the unsettling marriage of big tech and political expediency in a time when misinformation and division already erode the fabric of civil discourse.

The timing and context of Meta’s donation are as significant as the act itself. For years, Donald Trump has waged rhetorical warfare against Zuckerberg and his platforms, branding Facebook as “anti-Trump”² and railing against alleged censo…