“We serve everyone”: Meta takes an “anti-woke” turn like other large American firms

Mark Zuckerberg continues his political shift: the boss of Meta has put an end to “diversity, equality and inclusion” programs, “in particular because it is understood by some as (…) the preferential treatment of certain groups compared to others. others” details a company note.

“The legal and political landscape around diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the United States is changing,” explains an internal memo reported by Axios on Friday 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.

Offensive « anti-woke »

“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.

Other major American companies such as McDonald’s, Ford, Amazon and Walmart supermarkets have already reversed their “diversity, equality and inclusion” (DEI) policies, after a Supreme Court ruling in 2023 that ended the positive discrimination in universities, one of the achievements of the struggle 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 his note.

The shift in business takes place in the context of an “anti-woke” offensive led by the Republicans.

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

“I think a lot of our society has become (…) sort of castrated, or emasculated,” Mark Zuckerberg told Joe Rogan, the host of a very popular conservative podcast.

He said he came to this conclusion through 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.

Regrets for having “given too much credit” to the media

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

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 “community notes” system, for users wishing to add context to certain posts, like on X. And, still like on X, the content moderation rules on Facebook and Instagram have been relaxed.

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 more just and 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.