Meta Kills Diversity Initiatives, Loosens Hate Speech Rules, Deletes 'Trans' Theme From App

It's been a busy week for CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Less than a week after Meta said it would abandon its fact-checking program because fact-checkers have been “too politically biased,” the social media giant is telling employees that it will immediately drop multiple initiatives aimed at boosting diversity within the company.

A memo announcing the end of its “Diverse Slate Approach” was shared to an internal forum on Friday by Janelle Gale, the vice president of human resources at Meta Platforms, which owns services like Facebook and Instagram. As part of that program, hiring managers had been expected to “consider candidates from underrepresented backgrounds when interviewing for an open position.” Though the approach is now being discarded, the company “will continue to source candidates from different backgrounds,” the memo said.

Gale added that Meta will also get rid of its team focused on DEI, or diversity, equity and inclusion.

“The legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the United States is changing,” she wrote, in what many saw as a tacit acknowledgment that the shift is meant to appease the incoming GOP presidential administration.

“The term ‘DEI’ has also become charged,” Gale said, “in part because it is understood by some as a practice that suggests preferential treatment of some groups over others.”