THE GATEWAY PUNDIT | Published January 3, 2025
Mark Zuckerberg is going all out to rehabilitate his image with Donald Trump and his supporters.
Semafor was the first to report that Nick Clegg, the company’s president for global affairs, would be departing after several years at the helm.
A former British deputy prime minister, Clegg was one of the most prominent public faces of the company’s aggressive censorship regime against Trump and the MAGA movement in the wake of the January 6th protesters.
Clegg will be replaced by Joel Kaplan, who served as White House Deputy Chief of Staff under George W. Bush.
According to Semafor, Kaplan “has been one of the most forceful voices inside Meta against restrictions on political speech, arguing internally that such policies would disproportionately mute conservative voices.”
The report continues:
The shift, three weeks before Donald Trump’s inauguration, comes as US companies are embracing the president-elect, courting his inner circle, and backing away from progressive stances many had embraced in recent years.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg — whom Trump previously threatened to jail — dined with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in November and congratulated the president-elect on his win, one of many big tech executives to do so.
Meta’s political operation is now well placed for a Republican-dominated Washington: Its just-elevated vice president of global public policy, Kevin Martin, was appointed to the Federal Communications Commission by President George W. Bush, and its general counsel, Jennifer Newstead, was the top legal adviser to the Trump State Department from 2017 until joining Meta in 2019.
In a statement, Zuckerberg said he was thankful for Clegg’s contributions to the company.
“I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for Meta and the world these past seven years,” Zuckerberg said. “I’ve learned so much working with you and our whole team is better for having this opportunity.
“You’ve made an important impact advancing Meta’s voice and values around the world, as well as our vision for AI and the metaverse,” he continued. You’ve also built a strong team to carry this work forward.”
“I’m excited for Joel to step into this role next given his deep experience and insight leading our policy work for many years.”
Last month, it was revealed that Zuckerberg had agreed to donate $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund following their meeting at Mar-a-Lago.
Despite bankrolling liberal causes and censoring conservative publications including The Gateway Pundit, Zuckerberg has recently tried to distance himself from his past left-wing advocacy.
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SOURCE: www.thegatewaypundit.com
RELATED: Nick Clegg leaves Meta ahead of Trump’s return as US president
Sir Nick – pictured here with Mark Zuckerberg – leaves Meta at a time when Silicon Valley leaders seek to court Trump
BBC NEWS | Published January 3, 2025
Former deputy prime minister Sir Nick Clegg is to step down from his current job as president of global affairs at social media giant Meta.
In a post on Meta’s Facebook on Thursday, Sir Nick, a former leader of the Liberal Democrats, said he was departing the company after nearly seven years.
He will be replaced by his current deputy and Republican Joel Kaplan, who previously served as deputy chief of staff in the White House during President George W Bush’s administration, and is known for handling the company’s relations with Republicans.
He added that he would spend “a few months handing over the reins” and representing Facebook at international gatherings before moving on to “new adventures”.
Sir Nick’s resignation comes just weeks before Donald Trump returns to the White House.
The president-elect has repeatedly accused Meta and other platforms of censorship and silencing conservative speech.
His relations with Mr Zuckerberg have been particularly strained, after Facebook and Instagram suspended the former president’s accounts for two years in 2021, after they said he praised those engaged in violence at the Capitol on 6 January.
More recently, Trump threatened to imprison Mr Zuckerberg if he interfered in the 2024 election, and even called Facebook an “enemy of the people” in March.
However tensions appear to be thawing between the two, with the pair dining at Trump’s Florida estate in Mar-a-Lago since the US election.
Mr Zuckerberg also congratulated him on his victory and donated $1m (£786,000) to an inauguration fund.
Sir Nick’s departure is seen by some analysts as a nod to the changing of the guard in Washington.
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SOURCE: www.bbc.com
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