By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-06 22:05:14 | Updated at 2025-01-08 03:47:42
1 day ago
In Mark Zuckerberg's latest olive branch to President-elect Donald Trump, Meta has decided to add Dana White to its board of directors.
White, the chief executive of UFC, was one of Trump's most high profile supporters during the campaign was often pictured alongside him at various events, including UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden.
The social media company founded and run by Zuckerberg also added to its board Charlie Songhurst, an investor and former Microsoft executive, and John Elkann, CEO of Exor NV, a holding company that has stakes in Ferrari NV and the Juventus Football Club.
With the three additions, the board has swelled to 13 members, though Zuckerberg as chairman retains majority voting control through the company's dual-class stock structure.
'Charlie, Dana and John will add a depth of expertise and perspective that will help us tackle the massive opportunities ahead with AI, wearables and the future of human connection,' Zuckerberg, 40, said in a statement.
White, 55, is also a friend of Zuckerberg's, even asking the billionaire for his advice on how to incorporate AI into UFC's ranking system last year. Throughout the 2000's, White has remade UFC into one of the world's most popular sports businesses.
Zuckerberg is a fan of mixed martial arts and engages in the sport himself on occasion. He was rumored to have a bout with Tesla CEO and another Trump supporter Elon Musk.
White's new input over one of the most powerful tech companies in the world comes as Zuckerberg just donated $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund.
Mark Zuckerberg and Dana White are pictured together in an Instagram post from February 2024. This was at UFC 298.
President-elect Donald Trump, a good friend to Dana White, has long been critical of Meta
The donation was not only a reversal from past relations between Zuckerberg and Trump, it's a change in policy completely.
Meta did not donate to either Trump's 2017 inaugural fund nor to Joe Biden's 2021 affair.
Zuckerberg, though, has been making numerous attempts to better his relationship with the incoming president, which included dining with him at Mar-a-Lago in November.
Last week, Meta also named Joel Kaplan, an executive with deep GOP connections, as its policy chief.
Trump has long been critical of Meta for alleged instances of politically biased censorship against Republicans and conservatives.
Trump once supported a repeal of Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which provides legal immunity to social media companies over what its users post.
If it were repealed, this would open the door for anyone to sue social media companies like Meta for controversial content on their sites. Lawsuits could also target attempts to moderate such content.
Following the January 6 insurrection four years ago, Trump was suspended from Facebook for two years.
He was reinstated on the platform in 2023 months after Trump announced his third run for the White House, which was ultimately successful.
By July 2024, Meta fully removed all suspension penalties from Trump's accounts on Facebook and Instagram, citing the public's need to hear from nominees for president.
