Meta employees criticize the company’s new policy, additions to the board of directors

Meta Employees took part in their internal forum on Tuesday, criticizing the company’s decision stop fact-checking by third parties at its services two weeks before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.

Staff raised their concerns after Joel Kaplan, Meta’s new COO and former White House deputy chief of staff under former President George W. Bush, announced changes to the retention policy on Workplace, an internal communication tool.

“We are optimistic that these changes will help us return to our fundamental commitment to freedom of expression,” Kaplan wrote in a statement seen by CNBC.

The announcement of the retention policy follows a series of decisions that appear to be aimed at appeasing the incoming administration. On Monday, Meta added new members to its boardincluding UFC CEO Dana White, a longtime friend of Trump, and the company confirmed in December that they were contributing $1 million to Trump’s inauguration.

Among the latest changes, Kaplan announced that Meta will ditch its fact-checking program in favor of a user-generated system like X’s Community Notes. Kaplan, who took up his new role last week, also said that Meta will remove restrictions on certain topics and focus its monitoring on illegal and serious violations, giving users “a more personalized approach to political content.”

One worker wrote that they were “very concerned” by the decision, saying that Meta seemed to be “sending people a more serious and strong message that facts no longer matter, and combining that with a victory for free speech.”

Another employee commented that “simply absolving ourselves of the responsibility of at least trying to create a secure and compliant platform is a really sad direction to take.” Other comments expressed concern about the impact the policy change would have on debate around topics such as immigration, gender identity and gender, which one staffer said could lead to “an influx of racist and transphobic content”.

A separate employee said they were scared that “we’re entering really dangerous territory, paving the way for further misinformation to spread.”

The changes have not drawn widespread criticism, as some Meta employees have applauded the company’s decision to end third-party fact-checking. One wrote that the X Community Notes feature “proved to be a much better representation of the underlying truth.”

Another employee commented that the company had to “report on the worst results of the first years,” which required the creation of a third-party fact-checking program and whether the new policy would allow a repeat of the same effects.

As part of the company’s mass layoffs in 2023, so is Meta abandoned an internal fact-checking projectreported CNBC. This project would allow third-party fact-checking services such as the Associated Press and Reuters, in addition to credible experts, to comment on flagged articles to verify content.

Although Meta announced the end of its fact-checking program on Tuesday, the company was already pulling it back. In September press secretary of the AP told CNBC that “the news agency’s fact-checking agreement with Meta expired back in January” of 2024.

After it was announced Monday that White was joining the board, employees posted criticism, questions and jokes on Workplace, according to reports seen by CNBC. Technology news publication 404 Media reported earlier in the workplace posts featuring White.

White, who has led the UFC since 2001, has been embroiled in controversy in 2023 after a video released by TMZ showed him slapping his wife at a New Year’s Eve party in Mexico. Bely published a public apologyand his wife Ann White issued a statement to TMZ calling it an isolated incident.

Commenters on Workplace joked about whether performance reviews would now include mixed martial arts fights.

In addition to White, Meta’s board of directors included John Elkann, CEO of the Italian car holding company Exor.

Some employees questioned what value auto and entertainment executives could bring to Meta and whether White’s addition reflected the company’s values. One publication said the new board appointments would help with political alliances, which can be valuable but could also change company culture in unanticipated or undesired ways.

Workplace comments referencing White’s personal history were flagged and removed from the discussion, according to messages in an internal attachment read by CNBC.

An employee who said he works with Meta’s internal community relations team posted a reminder on Workplace about the company’s “community engagement expectations” (CEE) policy for using the platform.

“Several comments have been flagged by the community for review,” the employee wrote. “It’s important that we maintain a respectful work environment where people can perform at their best.”

A member of the internal community relations team added that “insulting, criticizing or disliking our colleagues or councilors is not consistent with CEE”.

Several employees responded to the note, saying that even respectful posts, if critical, were removed, which amounted to a corporate form of censorship.

One worker said that because the critical comments were removed, the person wanted to show support for “women and all voices.”

Meta declined to comment.

— CNBC’s Salvador Rodriguez contributed to this report.

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