Is Mark Zuckerberg changing Meta for the Trump era

At this point, it’s pretty clear what Donald Trump wants from Mark Zuckerberg. But what does Zuckerberg, who has now moved to Mar-a-Lago twice since the November election, want from the President-elect? They all described Meta’s relationship with the outgoing Biden administration as incredibly hostile. It’s safe to assume that Zuckerberg wants to reset the MAGA regime, especially since Trump is threatening to put him in prison for life soon. In Trump’s America, removing tampons from the men’s restrooms on the Meta campus, – which actually happened – is as much a business decision as a political decision. Destroying the ‘woke’ ideology is the main pillar of Trump’s mandate. Others who knew they had to play the game, like Amazon, also started to take off. However, Zuckerberg is adapting Meta to this new political reality with a speed that is unusual for a company of its size and influence. Founder mode. In a conversation with Joe Rogan and a video on Instagram, Zuckerberg shared a laundry list of issues that Trump could help with: fighting other countries that dominate their platforms, preventing Apple from dictating how to make mobile. apps and smart glasses (the latter is increasingly important for future Meta), and, perhaps most importantly, keep domestic AI regulations from slowing down efforts to crush OpenAI. Elon Musk has bought Trump’s ear. But the more time Zuckerberg spends at Mar-a-Lago, the more Sam Altman and Tim Cook have to worry. Then there’s the US government’s case for breaking Meta that will go to trial in a few months. After the blurring of the past four years, it’s easy to forget that this lawsuit was filed at the end of Trump’s first term by the Republican FTC chairman, not Lina Khan… Most of the main reactions in the past week have focused on Zuckerberg’s decision. to stop Meta’s third-party fact-checking program. This is a convenient scapegoat for company executives who, frankly, never achieved the goal of Facebook and Instagram neutrality. The alternative Meta Community Notes is that cribbing from X was not on the product roadmap before this week, so it will be a while before everyone sees it in the wild. The announcement that the US moderator will be moved from California to Texas is perhaps the most cynical of all; talk to anyone in the know and they’ll tell you the majority of moderators are based in Austin. Do you work at Meta? I like to talk. You can reach me safely on Signal and I will keep you anonymous. The hate speech currently allowed on the Meta is eye-popping in the face and will deserve more scrutiny in the coming weeks. The decision to start recommending political content again is a 180-degree turn for Zuckerberg. But insiders believe that the most impactful change for users of the Meta app is the weakening of the system that removes content for potential policy violations. Of all the announcements Meta made last week, this is the one I believe is least connected to Trump. Meta execs have been signaling for some time that they know they are mistakenly removing too much content that does not actually violate the rules; I told it is one of, if not, the biggest complaint in the user survey. If it’s done right, calling back the moderate error could be the only thing Zuckerberg announces that makes everyone happy. again the place to start the real product. Most of the energy has shifted to private meeting rooms and happy hours at the Wynn, Aria, and Cosmopolitan, where tech executives are schmoozing CMOs and striking deals with partners all week. At this shadow CES, everyone agreed that the show was more alive than ever. The booth on the exhibition floor has become a marketing tool to show clients before you take them to a steak dinner. The challenge for CES organizers will be figuring out how to capitalize on the growing influence of this part of the show with the current business model of charging people to walk through booths filled with smart toasters and concept cars. TikTok may be banned: Imagine an alternative world where the Chinese government will ban Instagram from operating in the country and Mark Zuckerberg goes into hiding. That’s the situation with ByteDance and its founder Zhang Yiming, who stepped down from the role of CEO after the last US ban attempt but still controls the company. They allowed TikTok to be banned in India and seem to have no interest in the app surviving at this point, so why won’t they let the same thing happen again? building generative models that simulate the physical world, “the trusted” is on the critical path to artificial general intelligence. Meanwhile, OpenAI is returning to its early roots by starting a team of “general-purpose robots” that will build hardware and push “towards AGI-level intelligence in dynamic and real-world settings.” We may have hit a scaling wall in text data but the big labs clearly see the opportunity in 3D. (See also what Nvidia announced last week.) Another headline you may have missed: Tencent (big investor in Epic Games, Snap, and US tech companies) blacklisted by the Pentagon for allegedly influencing China’s military. Tim Cook’s total compensation rose 18 percent last year to $74.6 million. Elon Musk hosted an inauguration party for Trump in DC with Uber and The Free Press. Sam Altman’s sister filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against him.Job board Some of the latest job changes in the tech world: A bunch of changes at Meta: UFC CEO Dana White, Exor CEO John Elkann, and Charlie Songhurst join the Board. Joel Kaplan discloses current policies and communications. After my stint at Google, I was told that Michael Levinson would be returning as VP of product for the Integrity org. (Good luck!) The head of civil rights, Roy Austin, left. And former DEI chief Maxine Williams is now head of “accessibility and engagement.” Elon Musk’s X named some new leaders: Romina Khananisho as head of new government affairs and John Nitti as head of “ad innovation.” Calista Redmon is joining Nvidia as VP of “global AI initiatives,” where she will “drive NVIDIA platform adoption for national and regional AI initiatives.” Sophia Dominguez, Snap’s director of the AR platform, has left. Other links If you haven’t already done so, don’t forget to subscribe to The Verge, which includes unlimited access to the Command Line, all our reports, and a better advertising experience on the web. As always, I want to hear from you, especially if you work at Meta. Reply here, and I’ll get back to you, or call me safely on Signal.

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