In Joe Rogan's softball interview, Zuckerberg pointed to Apple and agencies like CFPB as new targets for the GOP, without mentioning GOP's pressure on Meta

I'll spare you the experience of listening to one of the richest men in the world whine and just tell you straight out …

The Verge 2025-01-11 Elizabeth Lopatto

Context & Ripple Effects

Zuckerberg’s appearance extends a recurring Rogan-centered discussion of Meta’s content decisions, including his account of Biden administration pressure over vaccine content. This time, he directed attention toward Apple and the CFPB while leaving Republican scrutiny of Meta out of the framing.

The Apple critique also follows his separate claim that Apple has not recently produced major new inventions, making the interview part of a broader public contrast between Meta’s interests and Apple’s position.

First-order effects

Zuckerberg publicly places Apple and the CFPB among the institutions he says Republicans are targeting, giving Meta’s leader a clearer political frame for discussing competitors and oversight.
The omission of Republican pressure on Meta makes the interview’s account of political scrutiny selective, while Meta’s own moderation choices remain central to the surrounding coverage.

Second-order effects

Apple faces a more openly political line of attack from a major platform rival, alongside Zuckerberg’s existing product and innovation criticism.
Meta’s public-policy messaging can increasingly pair complaints about government pressure with criticism of other powerful institutions, rather than treating platform regulation as a company-specific issue.

Third-order effects

If technology leaders increasingly use large-audience media appearances to define which institutions deserve political scrutiny, platform competition and regulatory debates may become more tightly fused.
The pattern could make public narratives about moderation and oversight more partisan and leader-driven, reducing space for consistent scrutiny of companies across political cycles.

The trend: This is one data point in the shift from tech executives treating policy disputes as narrow compliance issues to using them as public political positioning against rivals and regulators.

Discussion

@chrisswartout Christopher Swartout on bluesky
You don't have to stay on his platforms.
@dangillmor.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy Dan Gillmor on bluesky
Perpetual softball tosser Rogan “interviews” Zuckerberg, who lies and lies and lies with no pushback. This is how media work in 2025. — https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/10/ 24341117/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-joe- rogan-lies
@benwhitelaw Ben Whitelaw on bluesky
The Rogan interview is further proof that Meta and Zuckerberg are just vessels for other people's values and ideas. There is no ‘going back to its roots’ because the company doesn't stand for anything www.theverge.com/2025/1/10/24...
@lucyannd @lucyannd on bluesky
“If you can get away with the small bullshit, you can get away with the big bullshit, right?” — #Disinformation — #FollowTheMoney — www.theverge.com/2025/1/10/24...
@seanokane Sean O'Kane on bluesky
Mark Zuckerberg let @lopatto.bsky.social interview you 2025 challenge — www.theverge.com/2025/1/10/24...
@piyushmittal Piyush Mittal on bluesky
They're all lying. It's almost impossible to tell who's telling the truth and who isn't. — www.theverge.com/2025/1/10/24...
@annette_ro78787 Annette Ross on x
@AutismCapital Senator Warren is far more trustworthy than zuckerberg. I remember the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the issues surrounding the Myanmay genocide in 2917, & the 2019 security breach. The C in CFPB is for consumer.
@torbettwa Chandler Torbett on x
If Zuckerberg (@finkd) doesn't know what the CFPB is, then @Meta needs better lawyers.
@itgetstickytv @itgetstickytv on x
On Rogan, Zuckerberg says he doesn't know what the CFPB is or why it's investigating Meta. The truth is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau defends people from corporate abuse. Meta has been accused of illegally using people's financial data in its ad business. [video]
@drmistercody Cody Johnston on x
Cute that Rogan hears Zuckerberg mention the CFPB and Elizabeth Warren, then says, “Oh the debanking!” because of his stupid Andreessen interview, despite him being immediately proven wrong because literally the opposite is true. Rogan, man of the people/billionaire-launderer.
@matthewstoller Matt Stoller on x
Mark Zuckerberg attacks the CFPB for looking at Facebook, pretending he doesn't know what the bank regulator does and pretending that Facebook hasn't been a major player in payments for 10+ years. https://www.youtube.com/...
@bostonbybirth Jonathan Bowen on x
@SenWarren Why did you target Mark Zuckerberg through the CFPB?
@syrneus Andrew Kenney on x
Grok seems to think that Zuckerberg's CFPB commentary is disingenuous and deflecting and I agree. The CFPB has done great things for American consumers and Meta's various financial apps and marketplaces definitely merit oversight https://x.com/...
@jason_kint Jason Kint on x
The Zuckerberg arrogance in this clip. @joerogan wouldn't have any idea CFPB was run by @chopracfpb (FTC Commissioner when FB paid $5+ to try to make massive data scandal and personal liability for Mark go away). Board and Mark currently being deposed in Delaware about this.
@autismcapital @autismcapital on x
🚨ZUCK: We had organizations looking into us that weren't even involved in Social Media. We had the CFPB looking after us. I didn't even know what that is. It's some financial institution that Elizabeth Warren set up. We're not a bank, what does Meta have to do with this? They [vi…
@roennreeds @roennreeds on x
Just watched the Joe Rogan-Mark Zuckerberg podcast, and @joerogan is being LIED to and is misinformed about the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau). Marc Andreessen (a JRE podcast guest from a few weeks ago) was incorrect when he told Joe the CFPB debanks people- in [imag…
@megankstack Megan K. Stack on x
Not long after Marc Andreesen (also on Rogan) claimed the CFPB de-banked him for his politics, Zuckerberg also claims he was victimized by the CFPB (a consumer protection body) and depicts efforts to protect the public from tech excesses as an attack on American businesses. 🤔
@arachno_commie @arachno_commie on x
Mark Zuckerberg is lying and acting ignorant because he thinks so poorly of the new maga base that he's trying to appeal to. Of course he knows what the CFPB is. He just knows that Rogan's listeners don't and wants to make them feel validated for their ignorance.
@billkristol Bill Kristol on x
“Zuckerberg's changes [are] part of his longstanding effort to dominate the information landscape while resisting responsibility for his company's contributions to political violence, extremism, and antidemocratic activities in the U.S. and the world.” https://www.thebulwark.com/…
@mathewi Mathew Ingram on x
Mark my words, Joe Rogan is going to be named Attorney-General or head of the FCC or something. Just a matter of time
@robertskvarla Robert Skvarla on x
It's cool how the tech oligarchs operate like the Cold War era CIA and have a network of podcasts and influencers to rehab their image and launder their agenda [image]
@luke_metro @luke_metro on x
so does Meta have a guy whose job is symbolically adding and removing tampons from bathrooms every time there's an election
@emmavigeland Emma Vigeland on x
His stupid fucking outfit [image]
@binarybits Timothy B. Lee on x
Joe Rogan says that the government wants to continue “the patterns of behavior they've always exhibited, to have control of the media. There have been CIA agents inside major newspapers forever.” What is he talking about?
@cyberbepis @cyberbepis on x
Dude who spent 12 hours testifying to Congress while his company was embroiled in the most high-profile data privacy scandal of the 21st century: “I don't know what the CFPB is or why it relates to social media companies.”
@chrismurphyct Chris Murphy on x
Mark's basic argument: America can only win when Facebook is unregulated and can addict as many kids and cause as much social harm as possible. This is a person who either has no idea how much destruction his technology has caused or he knows and pretends not to know.
@jeremyslevin Jeremy Slevin on x
This may sound crazy but what if the FTC is trying to stop Facebook from illegally monetizing children's data because Facebook illegally monetizes children's data
@jphilllllll @jphilllllll on x
It's amazing how hard this 40 year old with $200 billion works to pretend he's a cool normal guy, and how obvious it remains that he's a sociopath consumed by endless greed and hunger for power
@iroasmas Brian Graham on x
zuck says meta is putting in cubicles. it's bringing back scotch at lunch and smoking in the office. zuck says the company amex cards work at the strip clubs again. he says it's back to suit & tie dress code. zuck says they're reinstalling the asbestos. zuck says no irish allowed

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