Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta announced a significant overhaul of its global policy team on Thursday – pushing out left-leaning department chief Nick Clegg and replacing him with the corporate’s best-known Republican, Joel Kaplan.
Kaplan, who once served as deputy chief of staff for George W. Bush, is about to take over the reins of the Facebook and Instagram owner just days before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Clegg, the former Liberal Democrat party leader within the UK, has led Meta’s policy team since 2018 – a time when conservatives began ramping up claims that their viewpoints were being suppressed by the social media giant.
Those efforts became most evident when Facebook suppressed The Post’s reporting of the Hunter Biden laptop scandal shortly before the 2020 election. The social media platform also banned Donald Trump following the Jan. 6 riots on the Capitol.
Nevertheless, the leadership shakeup is the newest sign of Zuckerberg’s ongoing effort to cozy as much as the president-elect. In November, the tech titan raced to Mar-a-Lago for dinner with Trump after reportedly requesting a gathering to debate “the incoming administration.”
Shortly after the meeting, Clegg said that Zuckerberg was aiming to have “an lively role within the debates that any administration must have about maintaining America’s leadership within the technological sphere … and particularly the pivotal role that AI will play.”
Meta also donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund.
Zuckerberg thanked Clegg for his seven years of service in showing him the door.
“I’ve learned a lot working with you and our whole team is best for having this chance,” he wrote in a comment on Clegg’s Facebook post announcing the transition.
“I’m excited for Joel to step into this role next given his deep experience and insight leading our policy work for a few years.”
Clegg said he could be “spending a number of months handing over the reins” to Kaplan before heading on to what he described as “recent adventures.”
“I will likely be without end grateful to Mark and Sheryl Sandberg for taking me on in the primary place – and to the various colleagues and teams I even have had the great luck to work with ever since. It truly has been an adventure of a lifetime,” said Clegg, whose exit was first reported by Semafor.
The controversial Clegg played a significant role in shaping Meta’s handling of content moderation and elections. He was also heavily involved within the creation of Meta’s Oversight Board – which has faced sharp criticism in recent days for being biased against Israel.
In an indication of his political leanings, Clegg publicly blasted Elon Musk at a September event – declaring that the X owner had turned the social media app formerly often called Twitter into “a kind of one man, kind of hyper-partisan and ideological hobby horse.”
When asked about whether Meta should moderate content on the time, Clegg said: “We unavoidably should.”
Kaplan is widely seen as Meta’s primary champion for conservatives – and has reportedly argued against policies that may disproportionately impact right-leaning viewpoints.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a vocal critic of Big Tech, praised Meta’s decision to raise Kaplan.
“I’ve known and revered Joel Kaplan for a few years, and I’m confident he’ll proceed to advocate without spending a dime speech and against censorship,” Cotton said in an announcement.
The political stakes are high for Meta, which Trump had previously described as “the enemy of the people” as a result of alleged censorship and election interference.
Trump and his allies blasted Zuckerberg and Meta as recently as July, accusing the corporate of suppressing information in regards to the attempted assassination of the Republican presidential nominee at a July 13 rally.
Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta announced a significant overhaul of its global policy team on Thursday – pushing out left-leaning department chief Nick Clegg and replacing him with the corporate’s best-known Republican, Joel Kaplan.
Kaplan, who once served as deputy chief of staff for George W. Bush, is about to take over the reins of the Facebook and Instagram owner just days before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Clegg, the former Liberal Democrat party leader within the UK, has led Meta’s policy team since 2018 – a time when conservatives began ramping up claims that their viewpoints were being suppressed by the social media giant.
Those efforts became most evident when Facebook suppressed The Post’s reporting of the Hunter Biden laptop scandal shortly before the 2020 election. The social media platform also banned Donald Trump following the Jan. 6 riots on the Capitol.
Nevertheless, the leadership shakeup is the newest sign of Zuckerberg’s ongoing effort to cozy as much as the president-elect. In November, the tech titan raced to Mar-a-Lago for dinner with Trump after reportedly requesting a gathering to debate “the incoming administration.”
Shortly after the meeting, Clegg said that Zuckerberg was aiming to have “an lively role within the debates that any administration must have about maintaining America’s leadership within the technological sphere … and particularly the pivotal role that AI will play.”
Meta also donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund.
Zuckerberg thanked Clegg for his seven years of service in showing him the door.
“I’ve learned a lot working with you and our whole team is best for having this chance,” he wrote in a comment on Clegg’s Facebook post announcing the transition.
“I’m excited for Joel to step into this role next given his deep experience and insight leading our policy work for a few years.”
Clegg said he could be “spending a number of months handing over the reins” to Kaplan before heading on to what he described as “recent adventures.”
“I will likely be without end grateful to Mark and Sheryl Sandberg for taking me on in the primary place – and to the various colleagues and teams I even have had the great luck to work with ever since. It truly has been an adventure of a lifetime,” said Clegg, whose exit was first reported by Semafor.
The controversial Clegg played a significant role in shaping Meta’s handling of content moderation and elections. He was also heavily involved within the creation of Meta’s Oversight Board – which has faced sharp criticism in recent days for being biased against Israel.
In an indication of his political leanings, Clegg publicly blasted Elon Musk at a September event – declaring that the X owner had turned the social media app formerly often called Twitter into “a kind of one man, kind of hyper-partisan and ideological hobby horse.”
When asked about whether Meta should moderate content on the time, Clegg said: “We unavoidably should.”
Kaplan is widely seen as Meta’s primary champion for conservatives – and has reportedly argued against policies that may disproportionately impact right-leaning viewpoints.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a vocal critic of Big Tech, praised Meta’s decision to raise Kaplan.
“I’ve known and revered Joel Kaplan for a few years, and I’m confident he’ll proceed to advocate without spending a dime speech and against censorship,” Cotton said in an announcement.
The political stakes are high for Meta, which Trump had previously described as “the enemy of the people” as a result of alleged censorship and election interference.
Trump and his allies blasted Zuckerberg and Meta as recently as July, accusing the corporate of suppressing information in regards to the attempted assassination of the Republican presidential nominee at a July 13 rally.
