After stopping fact-checking, Mark Zuckerberg announces the end of diversity programs at Meta

Mark Zuckerberg continues his political shift: the boss of Meta has ended programs designed to promote staff diversity, a new decision that aligns the social media giant with Donald Trump.

“The legal and policy landscape around diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the United States is changing”explains an internal memo reported by Axios on Friday January 10 and confirmed by Meta to AFP.

The parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp is thus reversing an approach adopted for years to create a more inclusive and equitable environment.

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“We are at the service of all”assures the note, specifying that the Californian group will continue to seek candidates of diverse origins while removing specific representation objectives for women and ethnic minorities.

A Supreme Court ruling in 2023

Other large American companies such as McDonald’s, Ford, Amazon and Walmart supermarkets have already reversed their policies of “diversity, equality and inclusion” (DEI), after a Supreme Court ruling in 2023 which put an end to positive discrimination in universities, one of the achievements of the fight for civil rights in the 1960s.

“The term “DEI” has become controversial, particularly because it is understood by some as (…) the preferential treatment of certain groups over others”underlines Janelle Gale, vice-president of human resources at Meta, in her note.

The shift in business is part of a context of offensive « anti-woke » led by the Republicans.

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In California, Elon Musk and his X platform (formerly Twitter) have liberated conservative, even macho, voices, which traditionally had little reach in the democratic and progressive state.

“I think a large part of our society has become (…) castrated in a way, or emasculated”Mark Zuckerberg told Joe Rogan, the host of a very popular conservative podcast. He explained that he came to this conclusion by practicing mixed martial arts with other men, who see “the real Mark” in competition, and not just the polished leader trained to speak to the media.

During the long interview broadcast Friday, he again accused the Biden administration of « censure » and regretted having “given too much credit” to the media in the past, rhetoric strongly reminiscent of that of Elon Musk.

End of fact-checking on Meta

This week Mark Zuckerberg ended Meta fact-checking in the United States, a fact-checking program by independent organizations around the world, born in response to the flood of disinformation on its platforms, which worried the democratic authorities.

Instead, his company will set up a system of “community notes”for users wishing to add context to certain posts, like on Women and LGBT+ institutions are now allowed.

Mark Zuckerberg has been making advances towards Donald Trump since this summer, and especially since his election, like several of his neighbors and competitors. He had dinner with him in November, donated $1 million to his inauguration ceremony on January 20 and appointed several of his allies to key positions. He was again Friday at Mar-a-Lago, the current residence of the president-elect in Florida, according to the American press.

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“I think President Trump just wants America to win, and that makes me optimistic”he told Joe Rogan.

Resignation of the vice president for civil rights

Shortly after the diversity announcement at Meta, Roy Austin, vice president of civil rights at the company, announced his resignation. “The opportunity to contribute to the creation of a fairer and more equitable world, even in a small way, has been a driving force for me”said the man who served as deputy attorney general in the Obama administration, in a message on Linkedin on Friday.

The turnaround on fact-checking, described as ” shame “ by Joe Biden on Friday, caused a wave of concern in many countries, including the UN and the Council of Europe.

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If Meta generalized its decision to the whole world, it would have dramatic consequences, warned the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), which brings together more than 130 organizations, including the AFP. AFP participates in more than 26 languages ​​in the Meta fact-checking program, which pays more than 80 media outlets around the world to use their “fact-checks” on Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram.