Over the past few days, Meta Platforms (META) has been in full focus for multiple reasons as CEO Mark Zuckerberg begins to roll out significant changes.
Since yesterday, the internet has been in an uproar over the company’s decision to end fact-checking on Facebook posts and replace it with a system that closely mirrors the Community Notes implemented by Elon Musk for X.
This likely means platform users will be able to add written notes under any post that they see as false, effectively moderating each other.
However, this isn’t the only major change that Meta is implementing as it prepares for Trump to return to the White House.
The social media leader recently announced a major staffing change that could impact areas such as public sentiment toward the company. It might also determine who chooses to utilize its platforms.
Mark Zuckerberg is making some important changes at Meta Platforms that could significantly impact the social media industry. Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Tides are changing at Meta’s corporate office
With most of the focus on Meta’s fact-checking news, it’s easy to overlook the fact that the company is making other major changes.
Last week, news broke that Nick Clegg, Meta’s President of Global Affairs, would be stepping down to be replaced by Joel Kaplan, a former Republican lobbyist and member of the George W. Bush administration. By way of contrast, Clegg served as leader for the United Kingdom’s Liberal Democrats political party prior to joining Meta.
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In a tweet announcing his resignation, Clegg praised Kaplan as the right person to replace him at Meta. He noted, though, that his time there had “coincided with a significant resetting of the relationship between “big tech” and the societal pressures manifested in new laws, institutions and norms affecting the sector.”
Clegg also predicted that the worlds of tech and politics will “continue to interact in unpredictable ways across the globe.”
As a new year begins, I have come to the view that this is the right time for me to move on from my role as President, Global Affairs at Meta. It truly has been an adventure of a lifetime! I am proud of the work I have been able to do leading and supporting teams across the… pic.twitter.com/pXEP4TZYVe
— Nick Clegg (@nickclegg) January 2, 2025
While it’s true that both men come from decidedly political backgrounds, Meta’s reasons for making this change may not be directly political at all. Data shows that in 2024, global trust in Facebook was as low as 6% with only 10% of U.S. users saying that they trusted the platform.
When public sentiment toward a product or service falls so low, it often makes sense for a company to implement a different strategy, which can sometimes mean bringing in a different type of leader.
Social media industry experts acknowledge that the decision to replace Clegg with Kaplan is likely to pose both positive and negative impacts on Meta. Damien Filiatrault, co-founder and CEO of Scalable Path, spoke to TheStreet about what the future may hold for both Meta and its industry.
Filiatrault sees Kaplan’s appointment as sensible for Meta, due to the “increasing regulatory scrutiny” that social media companies may face.
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“The change could have broader consequences for tech companies,” he states. “It demonstrates how management teams in social media platforms that often feature in political discourses would become more aligned toward addressing regulatory risks.”
Facebook risks a user exodus
While that may be the case, Filiatrault also foresees some risk ahead for Meta following this executive change. “A more conservative tone at the leadership level might alienate some users and employees, particularly those who prefer a politically neutral or progressive stance,” he speculates.
This raises an important question that many people are likely considering: if Facebook adopts a more conservative tone, will its userbase start to seek other platforms?
Recent history has shown that social media users aren’t afraid to abandon a network if they view it as too conservative. After Elon Musk took over Twitter (now X) in 2022, platforms such as Bluesky and Mastodon reported significant increases in user growth.
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These alternative platforms don’t seem to be getting less popular. Newsweek reports that in just the week following Trump’s victory in November 2023, 700,000 new users signed up to join Bluesky while X reported its largest user exodus since Musk’s takeover in 2022.
As reported by Mashable, analysts at Emarketer estimate X has lost 7 million monthly active users in the U.S. since 2022.
Yashin Manraj, CEO of Pvotal Technologies, sees it as likely that Meta is counting on Kaplan to be the conduit it needs to help ease the friction with its users who have switched to other social media platforms.
Another potentially negative impact of this pivot is the possibility that Facebook may lose advertising partners. Several prominent companies opted to stop buying ad space on X after Musk assumed control, including Ford (F) and General Motors (GM) .
However, Manraj seems to think Facebook can avoid this if it moves forward carefully. “Meta still [has] a few years to stop the bleeding before advertisers see [its] ecosystem as aging and less relevant to do business with,” he predicts.
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