It’s a turnaround that we didn’t necessarily see coming. Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) CEO Dana White joins Meta’s board of directors. A decision that is part of profound changes at the social media leader, who is preparing for the second presidency of Donald Trump.
A close friend of Donald Trump
The announcement was made this Monday, January 6. In addition to Dana White, Charlie Songhurst and John Elkann will also serve on the company’s board. The first is a renowned investor, and former manager of Microsoft, while the second is the CEO of eXor, a holding company controlled by the Italian Agnelli family, holding interests in European giants like Ferrari and Christian Louboutin.
“ Dana, John and Charlie will bring deep expertise and perspective that will help us seize the enormous opportunities ahead with AI, wearables and the future of human connection “, assures Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta.
A mixed martial arts (MMA) enthusiast, the manager has formed a relationship with White in recent years. His appointment to Meta’s decision-making council may, however, raise questions, the man being close to Donald Trump, whom he supported during his three presidential campaigns.
Especially since last week, the company replaced Nick Clegg, its head of international affairs, with Joel Kaplan, a Republican known for his conservative positions.
A moderation which is similar to that applied on X
These initiatives are not the result of chance. Mark Zuckerberg, in Donald Trump’s crosshairs for several years, puts all the chances two weeks before his inauguration. At the same time, the CEO also announced significant changes to the moderation policy of Facebook and Instagram, marking a crucial turning point for the platforms.
Objective : promote absolute freedom of expression, a concept championed by Elon Musk on (ex-Twitter). A few weeks ago, Zuckerberg was already moving in this direction by admitting to having censored certain users too much. “ We will simplify our content policies and get rid of a number of restrictions on topics such as immigration and gender, which are simply disconnected from the dominant discourse “, he explained in a 5-minute video.
A measure which is accompanied by the removal of “ fact checkers »that is, professionals who are dedicated to verifying the accuracy of information. According to ” Zuck “, they ” simply showed too much political bias and destroyed more trust than they created “. The firm’s moderation teams will also move from California to Texas, like several similar decisions taken by Musk last year.
The Meta boss also contributed $1 million to the president-elect’s inauguration fund, with the clear ambition of not being targeted by his next administration.
- Dana White, CEO of the UFC and close to Donald Trump, will sit on Meta’s board of directors.
- Mark Zuckerberg also announced significant changes to the moderation policy of his platforms, in order to promote greater freedom of expression.
- These decisions clearly allow the social media giant to best prepare for Trump’s second term.
