Zuckerberg Says He Has ‘No Deal of Any Kind’ with Trump

Facebook Chief Mark Zuckerberg said he has "no deal of any kind" with President Donald Trump on content moderation on the social networking site in an interview released Monday.

Zuckerberg, in an interview with Axios, rejected the "speculation" that Facebook had an arrangement that would give the president a free rein on the platform.

“Let me be clear: There’s no deal of any kind,” Zuckerberg told the news site.

“Actually, the whole idea of a deal is pretty ridiculous.”

Comments come with Facebook under intense pressure, including an growing embargo by advertisers, to curtail offensive posts that could encourage violence, even from Trump.

Facebook's long-standing policy was to get away from the fact-checking political speech, but it took down an ad from Trump's campaign that included a symbol used in Nazi Germany.

“There are a lot of people who’ve said that maybe we’re too sympathetic or too close in some way to the Trump administration,” Zuckerberg said.

He noted that despite his meetings with Trump, Facebook has seen a range of disagreements with the new government, including criticism on Section 230, which offers internet platforms a protection from content posted from third parties.

“Under this administration, we’ve faced record fines of $5 billion, are under antitrust investigation by multiple agencies, and have been targeted by an executive order to strip protections in Section 230,” he said.

He added that “I do speak with the president from time to time, just like I spoke with our last president and political leaders around the world.”

Zuckerberg said he accepted an invitation to a private White House dinner with Trump “because I was in town and he is the president of the United States.”

He pointed out that “I also had multiple meals and meetings with President Obama … both at the White House and outside, including hosting an event for him at Facebook HQ.”