Meta Appoints Dana White, Ends Fact-Checking, Moves Moderation to Texas Ahead of Trump Term

Jan 7, 2025, 01:26 PM

Meta Platforms has announced that Dana White, CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), John Elkann, CEO of Exor and chairman of Stellantis, and technology investor Charlie Songhurst have been elected to its board of directors. The appointments come just before President-elect Donald Trump takes office and are part of Meta's strategic shift towards embracing free speech and reducing content censorship on its platforms, Facebook and Instagram. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, announced that the company is ending its third-party fact-checking program in the United States and plans to adopt a community notes system similar to that used by X (formerly Twitter). He expressed a commitment to "getting back to our roots on free expression" and acknowledged the importance of reducing content moderation biases. Meta is also relocating its content moderation teams from California to Texas in an effort to eliminate bias and align with its new approach. Additionally, Joel Kaplan, a Republican policy executive and former deputy chief of staff under President George W. Bush, has replaced Nick Clegg as Meta's president of global affairs. Dana White, a close ally of President-elect Donald Trump, expressed enthusiasm about joining Meta's board, as did John Elkann, who stated, "I am honored to be able to contribute to the future of one of the most significant companies of the 21st century." These changes signal Meta's strategic pivot towards free speech and alignment with the incoming Trump administration.