First on Fox: Metta’s chief global affairs officer, Joel Kaplan, told Fox News Digital that the move to end its diversity, equity and inclusion programs will ensure the company is “building teams with the most talented people.”

Meta announced on Friday that it has ended its major DEI programs with immediate effect.

Metacorporate terminates the DI program.

Janelle Gale, Meta’s vice president of human resources, sent out a memo, first obtained by Axios, telling employees that “the legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion is changing.”

Kaplan, Meta’s chief global affairs officer, discussed the decision with Fox News Digital on Friday afternoon.

The Meta logo is seen at the Vivatech show on June 14, 2023 in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus/AP Newsroom)

“It’s ultimately about doing what’s best for our company and making sure we’re serving everyone and building teams with the most talented people,” Kaplan told Fox News Digital. ” “This means evaluating people individually, and sourcing people from a range of candidate pools, but never making hiring decisions based on protected characteristics like race or gender.”

Meta kills fact-checking program as Zuckerberg promises to restore free expression on Facebook, Instagram

Kaplan points to recent Supreme Court decisions that “are signaling a shift in the way courts approach DEI.”

“This reaffirms longstanding principles that discrimination based on inherent characteristics should not be tolerated or promoted,” Kaplan told Fox News Digital.

US Supreme Court in Washington, DC on Friday, January 5, 2024. (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)

He added: “It’s clear that the policy and legal approach to this issue has changed, and we expect that to continue, and we want to make sure that our programs are long-term. And in a sustainable position.”

Several other prominent companies have rolled back DEI policies in recent months.

Trump says Meta has ‘come a long way’ after fact-checking on Zuckerberg’s platforms ends

McDonald’s announced Monday that it is ending some of its DEI policies, saying that while it remains committed to inclusion, it has abandoned its “aspirational representation goals” as well as suppliers. has terminated its DEI commitment for The company also renamed its diversity team to the global inclusion team and ended external surveys on the topic.

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The fast-food giant’s decision follows similar changes made by Walmart, Ford Motor Co., John Deere, Lowe’s and Toyota in 2024.

In mid-December, a federal appeals court struck down Nasdaq’s diversification rules that had previously been approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Meta’s move to end its DEI programs comes just days after CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company would end fact-checking programs on its platforms, including Facebook and Instagram.

Zuckerberg said his company is “going back to our roots and will focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies and restoring free expression on our platforms.”

Metafact plans to replace fact checking with a “community notices” model as used on X.

Meta’s third-party fact-checking program was launched after the 2016 election and was used to “moderate content” and disinformation on its platforms, largely due to “political pressure”, but The executive acknowledged that the system was “far gone. Far away.”

President-elect Donald Trump reacted. For the meta In moving to end its fact-checking program on Facebook, Instagram and its other platforms, Fox News told Digital in an exclusive interview that the company “ A long way”

Trump said he thought Meta’s “presentation was excellent.”

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Regarding the timing of changes to Meta’s fact-checking programs, Kaplan told Fox News Digital that the company “now has a real opportunity.”

“We have a new administration coming in that is far from censoring and pressuring companies. [is more] A huge supporter of free expression,” Kaplan said. “It takes us back to the values ​​that Mark founded the company on.”

Last year, Zuckerberg sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee, in which he admitted that he had felt pressured by the Biden administration, particularly on topics related to COVID-19, and even humor. Regarding the

“The thing is, as American companies, when other governments around the world that don’t have our tradition or our First Amendment, when they see the United States government pressuring American companies to take down content, So it’s open season for the government to put more pressure on them. [on their companies]Kaplan explained. “We think this is a real opportunity to work with the Trump administration and work on free speech at home.”

Kaplan also said Metta sees “opportunities for partnership” with the Trump administration, not only on free speech issues but also “in promoting American business and America’s technological superiority.”

“These are issues of great importance to Meta and our field,” Kaplan said. “And we’re excited to work with the Trump administration to advance those goals.”