Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms (META.O), stated that the Biden administration pressed the company to “censor” COVID-19 content during the pandemic. This appears to allude to White House requests to remove misinformation concerning the coronavirus and immunisations.

In a letter dated August 26, Mark Zuckerberg informed the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee that he regretted not speaking up sooner about this pressure, as well as other judgements he had made as the owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp over the removal of specific information.

In July 2021, President Joe Biden, a Democrat, stated that social media platforms such as Facebook “are killing people” by permitting misinformation regarding coronavirus vaccines to be shared.

Former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy have openly stated that the company’s failure to combat misinformation is hindering efforts to save lives during the outbreak.

Facebook announced at the time that it was taking “aggressive steps” to combat such misinformation. Despite the spread of vaccine-related misinformation on social media, the Biden administration eventually relaxed its criticism.

In a letter to the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee on Monday, Mark Zuckerberg stated that his firm was “pressured” into “censoring” information and that it would respond if similar demands were made again.

Mark Zuckerberg’s Letter to House Judiciary Committee

“In 2021, senior officials from the Biden Administration, including the White House, repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humour and satire, and expressed a lot of frustration with our teams when we didn’t agree,”Mark Zuckerberg wrote in the letter, which the Judiciary Committee posted on its Facebook page.

“I believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret we were not more outspoken about it,” he said. “I also think we made some choices that, with the benefit of hindsight and new information, we wouldn’t make today.”

The White House issued a statement encouraging reasonable efforts to preserve public health and safety in the face of a devastating epidemic.

“Our position has been clear and consistent: we believe tech companies and other private actors should take into account the effects their actions have on the American people, while making independent choices about the information they present.”

Mark Zuckerberg has recently attempted to cater to conservative fans, praising Republican nominee Donald Trump’s response to an assassination attempt as “badass” and appearing on right-wing podcasts. Representative Jim Jordan, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, is a long-time Trump supporter.

In a Facebook post, the Judiciary Committee described the letter as a “big win for free speech” and stated that Mark Zuckerberg agreed that “Facebook censored Americans”.

In the letter, Zuckerberg also stated that he will not contribute to electoral infrastructure in this year’s presidential election in order to “not play a role one way or another” in the November vote.

During the 2020 pandemic, the billionaire contributed $400 million to support election infrastructure through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, his philanthropic venture with his wife. However, some groups criticised the move as partisan and sued.

Prince Harry has taken an unexpected step to clear the air about his future plans, following reports of reconciliation with King Charles.

The Duke of Sussex has apparently decided to create his own online institution and has applied for a trademark.

It arose amid suspicion that King Charles had accelerated efforts to mend a gap with his son in his life.

Harry, who struggled academically at Eton College and departed with a D in A-level geography and a B in art, is poised to reveal a new effort with the US tutoring platform BetterUp.

The father of two, who bypassed university and went directly to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst as an officer cadet, is a key member of a team developing its own ‘life-coaching’ university.

The Duke is third in command of the platform and was named the company’s ‘chief impact officer’ in March 2021, with a rumoured salary of more than $1 million, to focus on ‘preventative mental fitness’.

The Silicon Valley mental health startup intends to establish BetterUp University, which will provide online degrees in life coaching.

In freshly filed documents, the San Francisco-based company has applied to the US Patent and Trademark Office to register its BetterUp University concept.

According to the application, the university will offer “online educational forums in the fields of life coaching, professional coaching, personal development coaching, and career development coaching.”

In a BetterUp discussion two years ago, Harry acknowledged to having “burnout” and feeling like he was “getting to the very end of everything that I had”.

He has spoken honestly about his mental health “unravelling” on TV and in his 2023 memoir Spare, decrying the Royal Family’s lack of “support”. He also revealed that he had been in treatment for four years “to heal myself from the past”.

SEE ALSO: Meghan Markle Unlikely to Move to UK with Prince Harry Due to Security Concerns

The US dollar rebounded from an eight-month low on Monday, while the yen climbed against other currencies as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East worsened, driving investors to seek safe-haven refuge.

The UK markets were closed for a public holiday, thus volume was lower than usual.

The Swiss franc strengthened after Israel and Hezbollah exchanged missiles in one of the most intense border skirmishes in over a decade.

“Geopolitical tension is definitely a factor. “Israel and Lebanon undoubtedly moved the market,” said Amo Sahota, executive director of Klarity FX in San Francisco. “Oil prices climbed by nearly 3%. They were down last Friday, so the recovery has benefited certain currencies, including the yen, Swiss franc, and Canadian dollar.”

In afternoon trade, the US dollar index, which measures the value of the dollar against six major currencies, rose 0.2% to 100.84, up from its low of 100.53 in late December.

The dollar was flat to slightly higher against the yen, trading at 144.51. It previously fell to a three-week low of 143.45.

The euro slipped 0.1% against the Japanese yen, trading at 161.45 yen, while the Swiss franc fell 0.7% to 169.97.

According to Helen Given, an FX trader at Monex USA in Washington, the yen has gained more than other safe havens, particularly against the dollar, as it continues to benefit from an expected U.S. interest rate cut next month, as confirmed by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in a hawkish speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming last Friday.

This caused traders to lock in bets on a 25 basis point (bps) rate decrease in September, as well as raise expectations for a massive 50 basis point rate cut.

“Powell comes in and sounds really quite alarmist, in a way, particularly his comments around employment reports,” said Klarity’s Sahota.

“He said nothing about moderate, progressive rate decreases. He appeared to be writing an open letter, stating that “if data suggests, we will go hard and fast.”

The dollar gained somewhat versus the yen as statistics revealed that US durable goods orders increased 9.9% in July after dipping in June. Non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a key indicator of company spending plans, fell 0.1% after a revised 0.5% increase in June.

The euro fell 0.3% against the dollar, hitting $1.1161. According to Reuters, ECB policymakers are planning another rate drop on September 12.

The risk-off mentality also weighed on the Australian, New Zealand, and Norwegian currencies, all of which fell against the dollar.

At the same time, the risk-off approach helped the Swiss franc. The dollar fell 0.1% versus the Swiss franc, to 0.8469 francs. The euro also lost 0.3% against the Swiss franc, reaching 0.9454.

Sterling fell 0.2% against the dollar to $1.3192, after reaching a high of $1.3229 on Friday for the first time in 17 months. The Bank of England’s Andrew Bailey stated on Friday that it is “too early” to declare victory over inflation, indicating a less aggressive approach to interest rate cuts compared to the Fed.