Almost got sentenced to death in Pakistan for blasphemy: Zuckerberg
What's the story
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg disclosed on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast that he was once almost sentenced to death in Pakistan.
The legal threat stemmed from a Facebook post with a drawing of the Prophet Muhammad, which was considered blasphemous by Pakistani authorities.
"There was a time when someone was trying to get me sentenced to death in Pakistan because someone on Facebook had a drawing of the Prophet Muhammad, and someone said 'that's blasphemy in our culture,'" Zuckerberg explained.
Legal threat
Zuckerberg's response to the blasphemy lawsuit
Despite the seriousness of the charges, Zuckerberg seemed unfazed about his own safety.
He said, "I am not planning to go to Pakistan, so I'm not worried about it."
However, he did jokingly say that flying over Pakistan could be dangerous if his plane were to run into any issues.
Policy shift
Meta's new content moderation policies
Zuckerberg's revelation came just as Meta announced major changes to its content moderation policies.
The company plans to ditch its traditional fact-checking system across platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Instead, it will take a community-driven approach like Elon Musk's X platform.
The change aims to encourage "more speech" by relaxing restrictions on mainstream topics while concentrating on illegal activities and severe violations.
Tech defense
Zuckerberg calls for US government support
The policy overhaul has also been backed by the likes of US President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Musk.
Zuckerberg emphasized that US government support would be needed to protect American tech companies from foreign lawsuits.
"This is one of the things that the US government is probably going to need to help defend American tech companies abroad," he said.