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Today β€” 12 January 2025News

We're witnessing a new Mark Zuckerberg: Welcome to Zuck 3.0.

12 January 2025 at 11:17
At the Meta Connect developer conference, CEO Mark Zuckerberg shows off prototype of computer glasses
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is entering a new era.

picture alliance/Getty Images

  • Meta announced big changes to kick off the new year, including ending third-party fact-checking and DEI programs.
  • The moves illustrate the latest evolution in Mark Zuckerberg's leadership.
  • You might call it Zuckerberg 3.0 β€” and it comes as Donald Trump takes power.

Mark Zuckerberg has shown himself to be the ultimate Silicon Valley shapeshifter, and in the first couple weeks of 2025, we got our best look yet at the latest version of the Meta CEO.

To kick off the new year, Zuckerberg made some big changes at his company, including ditching third-party fact-checking and slashing DEI initiatives.

He appears to be remaking Meta, which did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, at least partly in the image of Donald Trump and Elon Musk. And he doesn't seem too concerned about the backlash he's facing in some quarters, including from the same people who villainized him during the Cambridge Analytica scandal and the 2016 election, or even his own Meta employees β€” many of whom have reacted negatively to his latest decision to roll back DEI efforts.

His recent moves hint that he's entering a new era, one in which his leadership increasingly reflects Trump's tastes.

Zuckerberg's transformation

For years, Zuckerberg was known as an almost robotic presence in Silicon Valley. Some people criticized him for copying ideas rather than innovating, and others held onto his image as a wunderkind wearing hoodies or too much sunscreen.

By the end of 2023, though, the Meta CEO had undergone a substantial makeover and was garnering praise in business and cultural circles.

Zuck got shredded and was winning jiu-jitsu competitions. He went on popular podcasts, like Joe Rogan's, to discuss his workouts and make fun of himself.

As a business leader, he acted as the adult in the room and led Meta's "year of efficiency," which turned the company's stock around.

In 2024, he continued his transformation: He ditched his uniform jeans and hoodie uniform for designer T-shirts and gold chains. And his adoration for his wife Priscilla Chan β€” as evidenced through gifts like a statue of her, a custom Porsche minivan, and his very own version of "Get Low" β€” won him fans.

His newfound swagger grew into a new kind of boldness.

In the fall of last year, he said his biggest regret in his two decades of running Meta was taking responsibility and apologizing for problems that he believed weren't Meta's fault.

Zuck's next era comes as Trump takes power

Cut to 2025. Zuckerberg now appears to embrace some of the "anti-woke" ideas favored by some political billionaires like Musk, Peter Thiel, and, of course, Trump.

While Zuckerberg didn't endorse Trump β€” or Harris β€” in the 2024 election, he and other tech CEOs were quick to congratulate Trump on his victory. Zuck met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago weeks after the election and, through Meta, donated $1 million to his inaugural committee.

Now, he's taking what he calls "masculine energy" and putting it into action at Meta.

"Masculine energy, I think, is good, and obviously society has plenty of that, but I think that corporate culture was really trying to get away from it," he said in an interview on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast that aired on Friday. "It's like you want feminine energy, you want masculine energy."

"But I do think the corporate culture sort of had swung toward being this somewhat more neutered thing," he added.

He started the new year by putting Dana White, the UFC CEO and Trump's longtime ally, on Meta's board and replacing the company's head of policy, liberal Nick Clegg, with former GOP lobbyist Joel Kaplan.

MArk Zuckerberg cheering
Meta CTO Mark Zuckerberg cheers at a UFC fight.

Sean M. Haffey

Then, he ended third-party fact-checking on Meta platforms, which some conservatives have criticized, in favor of a more hands-off approach. Like X, Meta will now use "community notes" to allow users to police each other.

"The recent elections feel like a cultural tipping point towards, once again, prioritizing speech," Zuckerberg said while announcing the changes, implying that the choice was, at least in part, a response to the political landscape.

Meta's CMO, Alex Schultz, also told BI that Trump's election influenced the policy change.

The decision has come under scrutiny, with some saying the lack of content moderation opens the door to hate speech.

Under the policy, Meta users can say that members of the LGBTQ+ community are mentally ill for being gay or transgender, for example.

Dozens of fact-checking organizations have signed a letter calling it "a step backward for those who want to see an internet that prioritizes accurate and trustworthy information."

Still, others, including Musk and Trump, lauded the change.

"Honestly, I think they have come a long way, Meta, Facebook," the president-elect said on Tuesday.

In the recent Rogan interview, Zuckerberg said while some may see the timing of the content changes as "purely a political thing," it's something he has been thinking about for a while.

"I feel like I just have a much greater command now of what I think the policy should be and like, this is how it's going to be going forward," Zuckerberg said.

Zuckerberg's recent decision to cut Meta's DEI initiatives could also placate conservatives, who have criticized such policies.

While Trump has not commented on the DEI decision, he has criticized DEI policies in the past.

On Friday, Meta's vice president of human resources, Janelle Gale, said in an internal memo that the company would no longer have a team focused on DEI or consider diversity in hiring or supplier decisions.

"The legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the United States is changing," she said in a memo.

The decision sparked a backlash among some. Internally, nearly 400 employees reacted with a teary-eyed emoji to the announcement; one called it "disappointing," and another said it was a "step backward," BI reported on Friday.

"Wow, we really capitulated on a lot of our supposed values this week," another employee commented, seemingly referring to both the DEI and fact-checking moves.

Others, though, did seem to support the move: 139 employees "liked" the post, and 57 responded with a heart emoji.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Sunday Snapshot: America's closing borders

12 January 2025 at 11:34

With eight days until Jan. 20, President-elect Trump and his team are preparing to unleash an onslaught of executive orders regarding the border.

Vice President-elect JD Vance said Sunday those day-one actions should send a message to "illegal immigrants all over the world: You are not welcome in this country illegally."

Here's what you may have missed when newsmakers hit the airwaves this Sunday, January 12.


1. Vance: "America is closed to illegal immigration"

Vice President-elect JD Vance visits "Fox News Sunday" with anchor Shannon Bream at FOX News D.C. Bureau on Jan. 11. Photo: Paul Morigi/Getty Images

Vance said in an interview aired Sunday that the Trump administration will release "dozens of executive orders" on day one signaling that "America is closed to illegal immigration."

The big picture: He dismissed questions about the humanitarian concerns surrounding Trump's mass deportation promises, arguing that family separation is a "dishonest term."

  • "If you say, for example, in the United States we have a guy who's convicted of a violent crime and has to go to prison, we want that guy to go to prison," he said. "But yes, it does mean that that guy is going to be separated from his family."
  • Vance argued Democrats "hide behind" raising alarms about a lack of compassion for families at the border.
  • "It is not compassion to allow the drug cartels to traffic small children," he argued. "It is not compassionate to allow the worst people in the world to send minor children, some of them victims of sex trafficking, into our country. That is the real humanitarian crisis at the border."

Fox News' Shannon Bream pushed back, noting that violent criminals are a small slice of the millions of undocumented immigrants living in the U.S.

  • Vance replied that law enforcement action is necessary to end the border crisis, saying the country can't buy into "the lie ... from the extreme left" that "law enforcement at the American southern border is somehow not compassionate to families who want to cross illegally."

Flashback: A federal judge in 2023 banned the separation of families at the U.S. southern border until 2031 to deter migrants from crossing.

  • That ruling could prevent the return of the first Trump administration's controversial policy that saw thousands of children separated from their parents.
  • Tom Homan, Trump's incoming "border czar," played a key role in crafting the policy.

Trump has suggested he'll use the military for immigration raids and has said he'd be open to detaining immigrants in camps.

2. Newsom taking Trump's threats to withhold California aid seriously

Gavin Newsom speaks with NBC's Jacob Soboroff during a "Meet the Press" interview aired Jan. 12.

Trump has threatened to withhold federal aid from California on several occasions β€” both during and after his first White House stay.

  • And amid the catastrophic fires tearing through Los Angeles County, Trump has repeatedly heaped blame on California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
  • It's not immediately clear how Trump would handle the fires if they're still blazing when he takes over the White House.

Driving the news: "That's his style," Newsom said on NBC's "Meet the Press," highlighting a slate of times Trump delayed or threatened to block aid to the Golden State and others.

  • He said he takes the threats "seriously to the extent that in the past it's taken a little bit more time" to deliver federal aid during political tension with Trump.

Zoom out: Vance, asked in a "Fox News Sunday" interview aired Sunday if Trump would withhold aid to Californians, said Trump "is the president for all Americans."

  • But he blamed the fires' rampant spread in part on a "serious lack of competent" California officials.

Reality check: The fires ignited amid a rare overlap of climate factors: the worst high wind event in Southern California in over a decade, and extremely dry conditions.

What they're saying: Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said Sunday that he's ready to work with Trump to make sure there is "no gap, no air between us" when rebuilding and helping victims heal after the deadly fires.

  • "I've been in Congress a long time, approving aid after disasters. I never once even considered, is this hurricane hitting a red state or a blue state?" Schiff said.
  • He added: "We need the incoming president to view it that way."

3. Lankford flips on Tulsi

Sen. James Lankford speaks during an interview aired Jan. 12 on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) made former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard's path to confirmation a bit easier Sunday when he said he would vote yes for her as director of national intelligence.

Why it matters: With the GOP's Senate majority so small, all of Trump's Cabinet appointees can only risk losing a few Republican votes, and several in the party have seemed reluctant to vote for Gabbard.

Between the lines: Lankford previously said he wanted Gabbard to explain where she stands on Section 702, which allows the U.S. to engage in targeted surveillance of foreign nationals living outside the United States, which Gabbard opposed while in Congress.

  • Last week, Gabbard said she supports Section 702 and that she would "uphold Americans' Fourth Amendment right" if confirmed as the nation's top spy.

What they're saying: "[Section 702] was a very important piece for me," Lankford said on NBC News' "Meet the Press."

  • He added that Section 702 is a key part of the DNI job, "to make sure we're actually watching for people to come attack us and stopping them before they do."

State of play: 13 proposed members of Trump's Cabinet will sit for confirmation hearings this week, including Pete Hegseth (Sec. of Defense) on Jan. 14 and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (Sec. of Homeland Security) on Jan. 15.

  • A date for Gabbard's confirmation hearing has not been set.
A CNN graphic displays the dates for this week's Senate confirmation hearings.

More from Axios' Sunday coverage:

$83M mansion featured on HBO's 'Succession' burns down in the Palisades Fire: report

12 January 2025 at 10:51
Shiv talking on the phone in season 4 of Succession
"Succession" star Sarah Snook at the San Onofre estate in an episode that aired in 2023.

Claudette Barius/HBO

  • A luxury Pacific Palisades mansion once featured in "Succession" has been destroyed by the LA fires, the Daily Mail reported.
  • The San Onofre estate was purchased by tech CEO Austin Russell in 2021 for $83 million, per Realtor.com
  • The Palisades Fire has now burned through more than 23,000 acres.

A luxury Pacific Palisades mansion once featured in the television drama "Succession" has been destroyed by the wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area, the Daily Mail reported.

Photos published by the Mail seemingly show the house reduced to charred beams and rubble.

The mansion was purchased by the founder and CEO of the lidar manufacturer Luminar Technologies, Austin Russell, for $83 million in 2021, per Realtor.com.

The 20,000-square-foot house, known as the San Onofre estate, featured six bedrooms and 18 bathrooms and had been available to rent for $450,000 a month.

The house had previously featured in the season four premiere of the Emmy Award-winning HBO series "Succession" in 2023.

A representative for Russell did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, which was sent outside regular working hours.

The season four premiere of "Succession" saw the Roy siblings (played by Sarah Snook, Kieran Culkin, and Jeremy Strong) visit a friend's lavish LA home.

Claudette Barius/HBO

The Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades area north of Santa Monica is one of a number of blazes raging through the Los Angeles area this week.

The Palisades Fire has burned through over 23,000 acres and is 11% contained as of Sunday, according to Cal Fire.

The blaze, which began on Tuesday, has so far damaged or destroyed over 5,000 structures.

The Pacific Palisades area is home to a number of celebrities, many of whom have now lost their homes to the fire. Those affected include Paris Hilton, Billy Crystal, and Milo Ventimiglia.

The Palisades Charter High School β€” used as a set for movies like "Carrie" and 2003's "Freaky Friday" β€” has also been damaged in the fires.

Meanwhile, a Spanish Colonial revival mansion in Altadena that was featured in "Hacks" and the Marvel series "Runaways" was destroyed in the Eaton Fire, per The Hollywood Reporter.

Other Los Angeles landmarks related to the industry have also been lost, including the Will Rogers Ranch house.

The LA County Medical Examiner has reported 16 deaths related to the wildfires so far, with five linked to the Palisades Fire.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Trump's pick to lead EPA was paid tens of thousands to write op-eds criticizing climate policies and ESG

12 January 2025 at 10:09
Former Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York
Former Rep. Lee Zeldin made nearly $200,000 from paid speeches and op-eds in recent years. Some of those op-eds were on climate-related topics.

Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call

  • Former Rep. Lee Zeldin, Trump's pick to lead the EPA, made $186,000 from paid op-eds and speeches.
  • Some of those op-eds criticized climate policies and ESG.
  • The former NY congressman also made $45,475 from gambling at casinos.

Former Rep. Lee Zeldin, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, has made millions of dollars in recent years from consulting, speaking fees, and paid op-eds, according to a financial disclosure made public on Saturday.

That includes tens of thousands of dollars to write about environmental and climate change-related topics. In one instance, Zeldin was paid $25,000 for an op-ed in which he likened environmental, social, and governance investing, or ESG, to the practices of disgraced cryptocurrency entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried.

A staunchly pro-Trump Republican first elected to Congress in 2014, Zeldin left office after mounting an unsuccessful bid for governor of New York in 2022. As retiring lawmakers in both parties often do, Zeldin cashed in, establishing a consulting firm to advise corporate clients while enmeshing himself in the well-funded world of conservative political advocacy.

It's paid off. According to the disclosure document, which covers Zeldin's major financial activities since the beginning of 2023, the ex-congressman has made a total of $775,000 in salary income and between $1 million and $5 million in dividends from his main firm, Zeldin Consulting.

He's also received $144,999 from America First Works, a pro-Trump nonprofit where he has a board seat, along with $65,500 from paid speeches and $15,000 from an entity called "Plymouth Union Public Research."

He also got lucky β€” literally β€” winning a combined $45,475 in the last two years from gambling at the Golden Nugget, Venetian, and Atlantis casinos.

"All nominees and appointees will comply with the ethical obligations of their respective agencies," Trump-Vance Transition Spokesperson Brian Hughes said in a statement.

Zeldin did not respond to a request for comment.

$120,500 for writing op-eds

The ex-congressman's disclosure reveals a variety of income streams, including substantial speaking fees from GOP organizations in Florida and California, a Long Island synagogue, and a Turning Point USA event in Michigan in June. In multiple instances, Zeldin was paid over $10,000 for a single appearance.

He also disclosed a combined $26,775 in payments from Fox News and Nexstar Media Group for "use of media studio."

The document lists payments from several public relations firms for paid op-eds, listing the news outlet and the date of publication. The titles of those opinion pieces are not listed, but Business Insider identified several that matched the publication and date included in the disclosure.

Among the most notable were a series of paid op-eds on climate issues β€” Zeldin could soon lead the agency responsible for the federal government's environmental policies.

In an op-ed for Real Clear Policy published in March 2023 entitled "How Congress Can Stop the Next FTX," Zeldin called on Congress to investigate ESG practices and the nonprofit watchdog Better Markets, arguing that companies may use ESG to avoid regulatory scrutiny in the same manner that Bankman-Fried used political contributions to curry favor with Washington.

The disclosure indicates that Zeldin was paid $25,000 to write that op-ed. He also appears to have made an additional $10,000 for another Newsday op-ed in August about ESG and $3,000 for a Fox News op-ed in July that criticized New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's climate policies and called on her to lift the state's fracking ban.

Zeldin was also paid to write about other topics, including $10,000 for a New York Post op-ed criticizing Vice President Kamala Harris' housing policy proposals, $10,000 for a Washington Times op-ed calling on regulators to crack down on China-linked financial platforms, and $15,000 for a Washington Examiner op-ed accusing the Biden administration of targeting Republican-run states via Medicaid regulations.

In some cases, Zeldin was paid even when the articles never saw the light of day. His disclosures list two op-eds that were never published, for which he received $10,000 and $30,000.

In total, Zeldin reported $120,500 in op-ed payments. The original clients who made those payments are unclear, and Zeldin and the Trump-Vance transition did not respond to a question about the original sources.

As with other nominees, Zeldin has agreed to divest himself from his consulting business if he's confirmed as the next EPA administrator, according to his ethics agreement. His confirmation hearing is set for Thursday, January 16.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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