The right-wing meta reinvention also includes an end to DEI programs and Trans Messenger themes

Meta doesn’t stop there Moderation changes. According to both Axios and New York Timesthe company is also discontinuing its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. This includes removing diversity hiring targets, eliminating the chief diversity officer position and stopping prioritizing minority-owned businesses as vendors, according to The times“Reporting.

When asked to comment on the end of DEI initiatives, Meta maintained that the reports were accurate.

Internally, the company appears to be pinning the decision on the changing “legal and political landscape,” according to a memo to employees Axios acquired.

“The U.S. Supreme Court has recently made decisions that signal a shift in how courts approach DEI,” Janelle Gale, Meta’s vice president of human resources, says in the memo. “The term ‘DEI’ has also become charged, in part because it is understood by some as a practice that indicates preferential treatment of some groups over others.”

The current Supreme Court is Not exactly friendly towards systematic attempts to address issues of race, gender, and sexuality, but in the context of other recent changes made by Meta, there seems to be more going on than the company’s fear of a potential lawsuit.

At the same time that Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta was abandoning third-party fact checking and changing the type of speech it allowed on its platform, 404 media reports The company removed trans and non-binary topics from the Messenger program, and the posts it published to announce them. The company also added Trump supporter W UFC CEO Dana White to its board this week, an affirmation of Zuckerberg’s continued tenure at the UFC, but also a sign of its eagerness to listen to conservative voices. It all seems less a reaction to the current climate and more like how responsible people want to do business in the future.