Meta fires employees for leaks amid Mark Zuckerberg's Trump pivot

Meta on Thursday said it had laid off 20 workers for leaking information to the media.

Meta on Thursday said it had laid off 20 workers for leaking information to the media, as the social media giant faces pressure over the recent political shift of its boss Mark Zuckerberg towards US President Donald Trump.

"We tell employees when they join the company, and we offer periodic reminders, that it is against our policies to leak internal information, no matter the intent," a Meta spokesperson said, confirming a story first reported in The Verge.

"We recently conducted an investigation that resulted in roughly 20 employees being terminated for sharing confidential information outside the company, and we expect there will be more," the company added.

"We take this seriously, and will continue to take action when we identify leaks."

The round of firings came following a recent series of reports based on Zuckerberg's meetings with employees.

In one meeting, first reported by The Verge, Zuckerberg told employees he would no longer be forthcoming with information because "we try to be really open and then everything I say leaks. It sucks."

He also warned them to "buckle up" for the coming year and said that Meta would be a productive partner with the White House.