Days before Trump's upcoming inauguration for his second presidential term, Meta is scrambling to woo back his trust. After placing UFC Founder, and staunch Republican, Dana White, as a board member, Zuckerberg is making a huge adjustment in his platforms to pander to Trump's policies.
In particular, Meta will be ending DEI Initiatives, including DEI teams, as well as its slate hires of diverse representation. This development follows the transformation of the priorities for the firm toward more compliance with politically right priorities. As it does this, the latest changes in legislation and policy follow changes adopted by the US government.
According to SCMP, Meta argued that this goes with Supreme Court rulings that limits diversity-focused programs in educational institutions. The decision was announced in an internal memo just days after Meta abolished its fact-checking program for Facebook and Instagram in the US. All moves have been likened to the priorities of the incoming US President, whose administration has been vocal in its criticism of content moderation and fact-checking policies on social media.
Critics say these changes reflect Meta's rightward shift in response to political pressure.
Democrats, Progressive Groups Push Back Against Meta
Fact-checking and other DEI policies by Meta were met with loud reactions when disassembled. President Joe Biden publicly called it "shameful," per CNBC. Other conservatives, including the entrepreneur Elon Musk, have also seen this change for a long time while opposing hate speech and misinformation rules on social media.
Critics fear that such decisions will undermine efforts toward diversity and combatting false information, which may be detrimental to the credibility and trustworthiness of the platform.
Now, how such changes will inform future operations of the company as well as the perception of the public is yet to be seen.
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