Meta and Amazon axe diversity initiatives joining US corporate rollback
//Summary - Level-C2//
Meta and Amazon are dismantling diversity initiatives, including hiring, training, and supplier programs. They cite legal and political challenges influenced by recent U.S. court rulings.
This reflects a growing corporate shift away from DEI efforts amid a conservative backlash against "woke" activism. Meta emphasized pivoting toward broader bias mitigation, while Amazon focuses on programs with measurable impact.
Critics argue that such moves harm workplace inclusivity and undermine progress spurred by the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. Supporters claim the changes align with sustainable business practices.
This trend mirrors decisions by other companies, including Walmart, McDonald's, and BlackRock, that are facing intensified political scrutiny and cultural polarization.
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Meta and Amazon are scrapping their diversity programmes, joining companies across corporate America, rolling back hiring and training initiatives criticised by conservatives, citing legal and political risks.
The move came just days after Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, announced it had ended a fact-checking programme that criticised President-elect Donald Trump and Republicans.
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In a memo to staff about the decision affecting hiring, suppliers and training, Meta cited a "changing legal and political landscape".
Walmart and McDonald's are among other companies that have made similar decisions regarding diversity efforts since Trump's re-election.
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In its memo to employees, first reported by Axios and confirmed by the BBC, Meta cited a Supreme Court ruling on race in college admissions. She noted that the term "DEI" (diversity, equity, and inclusion) has become "charged."
The tech giant said it would continue to seek diverse employees but would end its current approach of selecting from a pool of diverse candidates.
In a memo to employees in December, Amazon said it was "winding down outdated programmes and materials" related to representation and inclusion and would complete the process by the end of 2024.
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"Instead of having individual groups build programs, we're focusing on programs with proven results - and we also want to foster a truly inclusive culture," Candi Castleberry, Amazon's VP of inclusive experiences and technology, wrote in the memo, first reported by Bloomberg on Friday.
Financial firms JPMorgan Chase and BlackRock also resigned from groups focused on the risks of climate change this week.
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The moves mark the acceleration of a retreat that began two years ago, when Republicans stepped up attacks on companies such as BlackRock and Disney, accusing them of "woke" progressive activism and threatening political punishment.
Major brands such as Bud Light and Target have also faced backlash and boycotts over their efforts to appeal to LGBTQ customers.
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Many of the diversity, equality and inclusion initiatives were introduced after the Black Lives Matter protests that erupted in 2020 following the police killing of George Floyd.
Recent court rulings have emboldened critics of the programmes who say they are discriminatory.
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In 2023, the Supreme Court struck down the right of private universities to consider race in admissions decisions.
Another appeals court ruling struck down a Nasdaq policy that would have required companies listed on the stock exchange to have at least one woman, racial minority or LGBTQ person on their board or explain why they didn't.
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Meta also said it would end its efforts to work with "diverse suppliers" and instead focus on small and medium-sized enterprises.
It also plans to stop offering "equality and inclusion" training and instead offer programmes that "mitigate bias for everyone, regardless of background".
Meta declined to comment on the memo, news of which was immediately met with both criticism and celebration.
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"I'm sitting back and enjoying every second of it," said conservative activist Robby Starbuck, who has taken credit for successfully campaigning against the policies of companies such as Ford, John Deere, and Harley-Davidson.
The LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign said workplace inclusion policies help attract and retain top talent and are "directly linked to long-term business growth".
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"Those who abandon these commitments are shirking their responsibilities to their employees, consumers and shareholders," said RaShawn "Shawnie" Hawkins, senior director of the HRC Foundation's Workplace Equality Program.
Meta's move comes just days after the tech giant announced it would end a fact-checking programme that criticised Trump and Republicans and promoted conservatives to key leadership positions.
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In a nearly three-hour interview with podcaster Joe Rogan, Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg said he had always been concerned about being the arbiter of "truth" and was "ill-prepared" when the issue first heated up after the 2016 election.
He said the demands to take down information became unreasonable under the Biden administration. For example, he said the company faced pressure during the pandemic to remove content such as statements about vaccine side effects.
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He said that helped create a broader political backlash, including his own.
"I feel like I have a much greater command of what I think the policy should be," he said, adding that he believes the US government should "defend its companies ... not be the tip of the spear that attacks".
"If the US does this to its tech industry, it's open season on the rest of the world," he added.
Meta and Amazon axe diversity initiatives joining US corporate rollback
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Mark Zuckerberg says Biden officials would 'scream' and 'curse' when seeking removal of Facebook content
The Meta CEO said on a podcast that administration officials had asked the company to remove certain posts, including "things that are true."
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/mark-zuckerberg-joe-rogan-biden-officials-scream-curse-facebook-rcna187199
//Summary - Level-C1//
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed on "The Joe Rogan Experience" that Biden administration officials pressured Facebook to remove content, including satire and trustworthy information, often using aggressive tactics. Zuckerberg admitted past compliance but defended decisions to preserve humour and truth. The Supreme Court later ruled social platforms acted independently in content moderation without government overreach.
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On an episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience" released Friday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg painted a picture of Biden administration officials berating Facebook staff during requests to remove certain content from the social media platform.
"Basically, these people from the Biden administration would call up our team and, like, scream at them and curse," Zuckerberg told podcast host and comedian Joe Rogan. "It just got to this point where we were like, 'No, we're not gonna, we're not gonna take down things that are true. That's ridiculous.'"
The White House did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment about Zuckerberg’s remarks.
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It's not the first time that the co-founder of Facebook has said administration officials pressured the company to remove posts.In a letter last year to Rep. Jim Jordan, the Republican chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Zuckerberg said that the White House “repeatedly pressured” Facebook to remove “certain COVID-19 content including humor and satire.”
Zuckerberg said Facebook, which is owned by Meta, acquiesced at times, while suggesting that different decisions would be made going forward. He said the company "made some choices that, with the benefit of hindsight and new information, we wouldn’t make today."
The White House responded at the time in a statement saying: “When confronted with a deadly pandemic, this Administration encouraged responsible actions to protect public health and safety. Our position has been clear and consistent: we believe tech companies and other private actors should take into account the effects their actions have on the American people, while making independent choices about the information they present.”
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On Rogan's show, Zuckerberg said the administration had asked Facebook to remove from its platform a meme that showed actor Leonardo DiCaprio pointing at a TV screen advertising a class action lawsuit for people who once took the Covid vaccine."They're like, 'No, you have to take that down,'" Zuckerberg said, adding, "We said, 'No, we're not gonna, we're not to take down humor and satire. We're not gonna take down things that are, that are true.'"
That meme was included as evidence in an amicus brief filed by congressional Republicans in a case that made it to the Supreme Court in 2023.
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In that case, plaintiffs, which included Louisiana, Missouri and several Facebook users who had posts removed or downgraded, sought to bar government officials from communicating with social media companies.
The Supreme Court ultimately threw out the lawsuit in a 6-3 ruling, saying in part that there was plenty of evidence of platforms moderating content without government intervention.
“In fact, the platforms, acting independently, had strengthened their pre-existing content moderation policies before the government defendants got involved,” Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote in her opinion.
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Zuckerberg’s comments on Rogan's podcast come days after he announced that Meta would end its fact-checking program and replace it with a community-driven structure similar to the Community Notes system on X. He also announced that his platforms — Facebook and Instagram — would relax rules related to political content.
Zuckerberg is one of several tech moguls, reportedly including Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, whose companies have pledged to give $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural committee.
