Meta abandons racial diversity programmes as Zuckerberg woos Trump

By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-01-10 21:16:29 | Updated at 2025-01-10 23:45:50 2 hours ago
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Social media giant Meta announced Friday it is dismantling its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes across the company, marking another major shift in strategy as it aligns with politically conservative priorities.

In an internal memo to employees, the company outlined sweeping changes including the elimination of its diverse slate hiring approach and the disbanding of its DEI team.

The move comes amid what Meta describes as “a changing legal and policy landscape” following recent Supreme Court decisions against programmes that allowed for increased diversity priorities at US universities.

The memo, first reported by Axios, landed days after Meta abruptly overhauled its content moderation policies, including ending its US fact-checking programme on Facebook and Instagram, in a major shift that conforms with the priorities of incoming US president Donald Trump.

That announcement echoed long-standing complaints made by Trump’s Republican Party and X owner Elon Musk about fact-checking and moderating hate speech on social media.

 AP

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta, takes part in a conference in Denver, Colorado, in July 2024. Photo: AP

Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg has been moving aggressively to reconcile with Trump since his election in November, including donating US$1 million to his inauguration fund and hiring a Republican as his public affairs chief.

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