Meta is ending significant diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives due to changes in the “legal and policy landscape,” according to a memo obtained by Axios on Friday.
Since President-elect Donald Trump’s November victory, tech tycoons, including Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg, appear to be aligning themselves with the soon-to-be president. In Meta’s latest shift in Trump’s direction, the company is reportedly ceasing its DEI initiatives pertaining to hiring, training and procurement, according to the memo by Meta’s human resources vice president Janelle Gale.
INCREDIBLE!
Mark Zuckerberg is ending DEI programs at Facebook/Meta.
— Ryan Fournier (@RyanAFournier) January 10, 2025
“The legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the United States is changing. The Supreme Court of the United States has recently made decisions signaling a shift in how courts will approach DEI,” Gale wrote. “It reaffirms longstanding principles that discrimination should not be tolerated or promoted on the basis of inherent characteristics. The term ‘DEI’ has also become charged, in part because it is understood by some as a practice that suggests preferential treatment of some groups over others.”
Meta is also disbanding its dedicated DEI team, according to the memo.
Meta on Tuesday additionally terminated numerous initiatives to fact-check and regulate speech on its platforms, according to Axios. Zuckerberg criticized his own platforms’ fact-checking as being “too politically biased.”
Big Tech companies such as Meta’s platform Facebook and Twitter (now X) under its previous ownership, froze Trump’s accounts after the Jan. 6, 2021 riot Capitol riot. However, since Trump’s 2024 win, Big Tech executives appear to be bending the knee to him.
Zuckerberg recently met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago and Meta donated $1 million to his inaugural fund. Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, OpenAI and others also made sizable donations to Trump’s inaugural fund. Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White, a major Trump ally, also announced he is joining Meta’s board of directors on Monday.
The federal government, universities and other institutions in recent years have terminated or scaled back DEI initiatives that prioritize certain races following a series of lawsuits. The Supreme Court in 2023 ruled that race-based college admissions are unconstitutional, driving legal groups to ramp up efforts to dismantle racially biased initiatives.
Meta confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation that Axios’ reporting is correct.
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