Trump Vance’s senior transition advisor Jason Miller talks about Trump’s push for removal from office in the New York criminal case, Hunter Biden’s pardon, and the role some prominent celebrities may play in Trump’s policies.
First on FOX: Joel Kaplan, Meta’s chief global affairs officer, tells FOX News Digital that the move to end its diversity, equity and inclusion program will allow the company to “recruit teams with the most talented people.” “We will continue to build on this,” he said.
Meta announced on Friday that it is ending its major DEI program with immediate effect.
Meta ends corporate DEI program
Janelle Gale, vice president of human resources at Meta, sent a memo to employees, first obtained by Axios, explaining that “the legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion is changing.” .
Kaplan, Meta’s chief international affairs officer, discussed the decision on Fox News Digital Friday afternoon.
The Meta logo is seen at the Vivatech show in Paris, France on June 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus/AP Newsroom)
“This is ultimately about doing what’s best for our company, serving everyone, and making sure we’re building our team with the most talented people,” Kaplan told FOX News Digital. “This means valuing people as individuals and sourcing from a broad candidate pool, but not making hiring decisions based on protected characteristics such as race or gender. ”
Zuckerberg vows to restore free expression on Facebook, Instagram, Meta ends fact-checking program
Kaplan noted that the Supreme Court’s recent decisions “suggest a shift in how courts approach DEI.”
“It reaffirms the long-standing principle that discrimination should not be tolerated or encouraged based on inherent characteristics,” Kaplan told Fox News Digital.
Friday, January 5, 2024, at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, DC. (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
He added: “It’s clear that there is change on this issue from a policy and legal perspective, and we expect more to come, and we are confident that our program is in a long-term, sustainable position. “I would like to confirm that,” he added.
Several other prominent companies have reversed their DEI policies in recent months.
Trump says meta has ‘come a long way’ after Zuckerberg completes platform fact-checking
McDonald’s announced Monday that it is ending some of its DEI policies, saying that while it is committed to inclusion, it has dropped “ambitious representation goals” and ended its DEI pledges to suppliers. The company also changed the name of its diversity team to the global inclusion team and completed an external study on the topic.
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The fast-food giant’s decision follows similar changes made in 2024 by Walmart, Ford Motor Co., John Deere, Lowe’s and Toyota.
Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon joined “The Bottom Line” to react to Meta’s decision to end the tech giant’s fact-checking program.
In mid-December, a federal appeals court struck down Nasdaq’s diversity provisions previously approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Meta’s move to end its DEI program comes days after CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the company would end its fact-checking program across its platforms, including Facebook and Instagram.
Zuckerberg said the company is “going back to basics and focusing on reducing mistakes, simplifying policies, and restoring free expression on our platform.”
Meta plans to replace fact-checking with a “community notes” model similar to the one used in X.
Meta’s third-party fact-checking program was introduced after the 2016 election and has been used primarily to “moderate content” and control misinformation on the platform due to “political pressure,” executives said. said, but admitted that the system had gone “too far.” ”
President-elect Donald Trump reacted to Meta’s move to end its fact-checking programs on Facebook, Instagram and other platforms, saying in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital that the company has “come a long way.” he said.
President Trump said he thought Mehta’s “presentation was excellent.”
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Regarding the timing of changes to Meta’s fact-checking program, Kaplan told Fox News Digital that the company has “a real opportunity now.”
“We have a new administration that is very supportive of free expression, far from forcing companies to censor themselves,” Kaplan said. “It brings us back to the values that Mark founded the company on.”
Last year, Zuckerberg acknowledged in a letter to the House Judiciary Committee that he felt pressured by the Biden administration, particularly regarding content related to the coronavirus, as well as topics such as satire and humor.
“The problem is that as American companies, other governments around the world who don’t have our traditions or the First Amendment see the US government pressuring American companies to take down content. , it’s really open season for them. The government needs to put more pressure on (their companies),” Kaplan explained. “We see a real opportunity to work with the Trump administration to address freedom of expression in our country.”
Kaplan also said Mehta sees “opportunities for partnership” with the Trump administration, not only on freedom of expression issues, but also “promoting American business and American technological superiority.”
“These are very important issues for Meta and our sector,” Kaplan said. “And we are excited to work with the Trump administration to advance these goals.”
