Mark Zuckerberg's Meta Inc. on Thursday announced a major overhaul of its global policy team, ousting left-wing chief Nick Clegg and replacing him with Joel Kaplan, the company's most prominent Republican. Ta.
Kaplan, who previously served as chief of staff in the George W.
Mr Clegg, a former leader of Britain's Liberal Democrats, has led Meta's policy team since 2018, when conservatives began to make stronger claims that their views were being suppressed by social media giants. It was a time when
These efforts were most evident when Facebook suppressed The Post's coverage of the Hunter Biden laptop scandal just before the 2020 election. The social media platform also banned Donald Trump following the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.
But the leadership shakeup is the latest sign of Mr. Zuckerberg's continued efforts to appease the president-elect. In November, the tech giant rushed to Mar-a-Lago for dinner with President Trump after reportedly requesting a meeting to discuss the “incoming administration.”
Shortly after the meeting, Clegg said Zuckerberg aims to “take an active role in the discussions that every administration needs to maintain U.S. leadership in technology, particularly the pivotal role that AI will play.” He said there was.
Mr. Mehta also donated $1 million to President Trump's inaugural fund.
Mr. Zuckerberg thanked Mr. Clegg for his seven years of service, showing him the door.
“I learned a lot working with you, and our entire team will be better for having this opportunity,” he wrote. In a comment on Clegg's Facebook post Announcement of migration.
“Given Joel’s deep experience and insight over many years leading our policy efforts, I look forward to his next role.”
Mr. Clegg said he would “take over the reins over a few months” to Mr. Kaplan before heading off on what he called a “new adventure.”
“I will forever be grateful to Mark and Sheryl Sandberg for taking me on in the first place, and the many colleagues and teams I have been fortunate to work with since then. It was the adventure of a lifetime,” Mr Clegg said. semaphores.
The controversial Mr Clegg played a key role in shaping Meta's content moderation and handling of elections. He was also deeply involved in creating Meta's oversight committee, which has faced harsh criticism in recent years for being biased against Israel.
As a manifestation of his political leanings, Clegg publicly criticized Elon Musk at an event in September – The owners of X declared that they had turned the social media app formerly known as Twitter into “some kind of one-man, some kind of bipartisan, ideological hobby horse.”
When asked at the time whether Meta should moderate its content, Clegg said: “We have to.”
Mr. Kaplan is widely regarded as conservatives' foremost defender of meta. He reportedly opposed policies that unfairly influenced right-wing views..
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a vocal critic of Big Tech, praised Mehta's decision to promote Kaplan.
“I have known and respected Joel Kaplan for many years and am confident that he will continue to advocate for free speech and against censorship,” Cotton said in a statement.
The political stakes are high for Mehta, who President Trump previously called an “enemy of the people” due to allegations of censorship and election interference.
Mr. Trump and his allies slammed Mr. Zuckerberg and Mr. Mehta as recently as July, accusing the company of withholding information about the attempted assassination of the Republican presidential candidate at a July 13 rally. .
