Meta's Controversial Moves: Employees Push Back Against Fact-Checking End and Dana White Board Appointment

Meta employees have taken to their internal forum to express their concerns and criticisms over the company's recent decisions to end its fact-checking program and add Dana White, a prominent Trump ally and UFC CEO, to its board of directors. These moves, announced just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, have sparked a backlash among Meta's workforce, with many employees voicing their disapproval.

Meta's decision to scrap its fact-checking program, which was launched in 2016 to combat misinformation on its platforms, has been met with particular scrutiny. One employee commented, "It appears Meta is sending a bigger, stronger message to people that facts no longer matter, and conflating that with a victory for free speech." Another employee expressed concern that the move would lead to an influx of racist and transphobic content, stating, "We're entering into really dangerous territory by paving the way for the further spread of misinformation."

Meta's new approach to content moderation, which involves a community notes model similar to that of Elon Musk's X, has also raised eyebrows. While some employees welcomed the change, others worried that it would lead to an increase in biased ratings and the spread of false information. One employee noted, "Simply absolving ourselves from the duty to at least try to create a safe and respective platform is a really sad direction to take."

The addition of Dana White to Meta's board has also been a contentious issue among employees. White, who has been a vocal Trump supporter and played a key role in his reelection, has been criticized for his past actions, including a 2023 video that showed him slapping his wife at a New Year's Eve party in Mexico. One employee joked about the potential for performance reviews to involve mixed martial arts-style fights, while another expressed concern about the influence White's appointment could have on the company's policies and decisions.