See AlsoMeta (For-Profit) for updates on Facebook’s Parent Company

Meta, formerly doing business as Facebook, is a social media and networking service based in Menlo Park, California. Along with chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s co-founders include Andrew McCullum, Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes, and Eduardo Saverin. The company is considered part of the “Big Four” technology firms which include Google,Amazon, and Apple.¹

In 2021, Facebook rebranded itself as Meta, a reference to the “metaverse concept of a digital world.²

Products

Meta, in addition to its flagship social media platform Facebook, also controls the social media platform Instagram, the person-to-person communications platform Messenger, and the messaging application WhatsApp.³

Controversies

Hughes Op-Ed

In May 2019, Meta, then Facebook, co-founder Chris Hughes wrote an op-ed for theNew York Times calling for the United States government to break up the company. Hughes claimed to reference several “private conversations” in which company co-founderMark Zuckerberg confessed that he wanted to achieve complete “domination” over the social media market. Hughes also claimed that Facebook had become too powerful for other companies to compete with at the time, and further alleged that lawmakers had to break up the company “for the benefit of a more competitive private sector.”⁴

2020 Election and Zuckerbucks

During the 2020 election, Mark Zuckerberg and his wifePriscilla Chan donated roughly $400 million through theCenter for Tech and Civic Life to local governments and nonprofit organizations ostensibly to support state-level electoral administration and frameworks in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding was dubbed “Zuckerbucks” or “Zuckbucks” by critics who alleged the funding aided Democratic Party campaigns during the 2020 election cycle including then-former Vice PresidentJoe Biden’s election as president.⁵

In May 2024,UCLA assistant professor of political science Daniel Thompson claimed to have conducted a study alleging the funding had no impact on the election’s outcome based on a comparison of voting outcomes in states that did and did not receive Zuckbucks (28 states banned private funding for election administration at the time of the election). However, theFoundation for Government Accountability (FGA) had released a report earlier claiming to have tracked $350 million in Zuckerbucks which passed through the CTCL and alleged that counties which received CTCL funding saw a shift towards supporting Democratic Party candidates. The FGA further claimed that this trend was focused on funding get-out-the-vote (GOTV) efforts and additional grassroots electoral efforts.⁵⁶

Post-2024 Activities

According to a January 2025 story by theNew York Times, following PresidentDonald Trump’s second election in November 2024, Meta allegedly became one of several corporations that began to shift its structure and leadership policies away from previous left-of-center promises. The story claimed that other groups on a similar direction includedWalmart,Amazon, and McDonald’s, while it further alleged the polices were being changed to reflect goals more aligned with those potentially advocated by theSecond Trump administration. Part of the story claimed, “[i]n a major departure for a tech industry that has typically leaned left and liberal, Mr. Zuckerberg,Elon Musk, Amazon founderJeff Bezos,Google chief executive Sundar Pichai,Apple chief Tim Cook and Google co-founder Sergey Brin have embraced Mr. Trump, including by appearing at his inauguration last week.”⁷⁸⁹

Shortly before Thanksgiving 2024, Zuckerberg reportedly had dinner with President-elect Trump, and Meta would later donate $1 million to then-President-elect Trump’s inauguration fund.¹⁰

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Programs

In January 2025, Meta announced in a company memo that it was ending its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs which included “relevant hiring supplier” practices and DEI administrative employees, while at the same time Meta’s chief diversity officer would be shifted to a new role based on promoting “accessibility and engagement.” In the memo, Meta vice-president of human resources Janelle Gale attributed the change to a shift in the “legal and policy landscape” of the United States and an association of DEI with “preferential treatment of some groups over others.” Gale added in the statement that Meta would begin to “focus on how to apply fair and consistent practices that mitigate bias for all, no matter your background.”⁷

Censorship

Starting in 2015, Meta, then Facebook, allegedly began to focus on developing programs and systems meant to moderate content on its own platform as well as the media siteInstagram. This included the creation of an algorithm that would be used to identify and block posts and content online that would be seen as false or “misinformation.”⁷¹¹¹⁰

In January 2025, on the same day as Meta published the memo announcing the end of its DEI policies, Mark Zuckerberg appeared as a guest on theJoe Rogan Experience podcast. During the podcast, Zuckerberg discussed his shifting perspective regarding DEI and censorship, where he claimed that he had been considering ending Meta’s DEI policies “for a long time” prior to the announcement. In addition, he alleged he had been shifting his political views in regard to fears of a rise in disinformation during President Trump’sfirst administration and the Covid-19 Pandemic era.⁷

During the podcast, Zuckerberg also claimed that during COVID-19, Meta had been pressured by theBiden administration to increase censorship of statements and posts made on the site that were allegedly targeted as “misinformation.” He further claimed, “[b]asically these people from the Biden administration would call up our team and like scream at them and curse, and it’s like, these are documented, it’s all kind of out there.”⁷

That same month, Zuckerberg would also announce that Meta would begin shifting its content moderation policies for both Facebook and Instagram towards a model similar to that used by social media platform X (formerlyTwitter) owned by technology entrepreneurElon Musk.  Zuckerberg’s announcement also added that Facebook would eliminate “restrictions on topics like immigration and gender that are just out of touch with mainstream discourse.”¹⁰

Alleged Bias against Conservatives

In January 2019, Facebook refused ads to producers of the film,Roe v. Wade because they considered the film to be a “political ad.”¹²

In 2018, Facebook banned ads from pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List supporting Matt Rosendale’s campaign for U.S. Senate from Montana.¹³

In 2017, Facebook banned ads from Michigan Right to Life on three separate occasions. Facebook claimed it made the ban in error.¹⁴

In 2016, speaking to left-of-center publication Gizmodo, former Facebook employees who worked as “news curators” said that the company routinely suppressed conservative publications and content that favored conservative causes by barring stories about conservative events and politicians from the site’s “Trending” feature.¹⁵

Cambridge Analytica Data Handling

The political data vendor Cambridge Analytica, known for its connections to right-wing political activist Steve Bannon, conservative political donor Rebekah Mercer, and the Presidential campaign of Donald Trump, closed in 2018 after it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica had improperly accessed certain data on the Facebook platform. Critics noted that Cambridge Analytica’s practices resembled those of other political data organizations on both right and left that accessed the Facebook platform.¹⁶

Banning Gun Sales

In 2016, Facebook banned users from coordinating private gun sales on the platform and their partner application, Instagram.¹⁷ This became an issue when Facebook suspended U.S. Senate candidate Austin Petersen (R-MO) for a month after he promoted a campaign-related rifle  giveaway om the site.¹⁸

Susan B. Anthony List Fact Check

In October 2020, the pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List, argued that Facebook and other major social media websites have followed a pattern of censorship against pro-life speech.¹⁹ This followed a decision by Facebook on October 16, 2020 to ban two ads from the SBA List that were critical of then-presidential candidate Joe Biden and vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris. The ads were banned by Facebook due to a “fact check” performed bythe Dispatch, which ruled that the ads incorrectly stated that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris supported late-term abortion.²⁰ However,the Dispatch later reported that its “fact checks” were incorrect, admitting that labeling the ads “partly false” was a mistake.²¹

Criticism

In May 2019, Facebook co-founderChris Hughes called for the U.S. government to break up the companyin an op-ed he wrote for theNew York Times. Citing a number of private conversations in which Zuckerberg confessed that he wanted to achieve complete “domination” over the social media market, Hughes argued that Facebook had intentionally become too powerful for other companies to compete with, and lawmakers therefore must step in and play their historical role as the disruptors of monopolies for the benefit of a more competitive private sector.²²

Campaign Spending

People and political committees associated with Facebook are major contributors to political candidates. During the 2018 election cycle, Facebook donated over $460,000 dollars to candidates for federal office. Donations went to candidates of both parties with slightly more going to Republicans.²³

During the 2016 election cycle, Facebook donated over $500,000 to candidates for federal office. Donations went to candidates of both parties, with slightly more going to Republicans.²⁴ During the 2014 election cycle, Facebook donated over $300,000 to candidates for federal office. Donations went to candidates of both parties, with slightly more going to Republicans.²⁵ During the 2012 election cycle, Facebook donated over $250,000 to candidates for federal office. Donations went to candidates of both parties with slightly more going to Republicans.²⁶

People

Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg is the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Facebook. Politically, Zuckerberg has supported a number of candidates of both parties, but in recent election cycles he has provided more support to Democrats. During the 2018 midterm election reporting cycle, Zuckerberg donated to California DemocratKatie Porter, and during the 2016 election reporting cycle, Zuckerberg made a $10,000 donation to the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee.²⁷²⁸

During the 2014 midterm election reporting cycle, Zuckerberg donated to SenatorCory Booker (D-NJ), then-SenatorMarco Rubio (R-FL), then-SenatorOrrin Hatch (R-UT), then-House SpeakerJohn Boehner (R-OH), former House SpeakerNancy Pelosi (D-CA), then-Rep.Paul Ryan (R-WI), then-Rep.Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), and Democratic Congressional candidateSean Eldridge, the husband of Facebook co-founderChris Hughes. ²⁹

Sheryl Sandberg

Sheryl Sandberg was the company’s chief operating officer until August 2022.³⁰ Previously, she was vice president of global online sales and operations at Google. She was also former chief of staff to Treasury SecretaryLawrence Summers.³¹

In 2014, Sandberg joined with Beyoncé, Jane Lynch, and Jennifer Garner in the feminist “Ban Bossy” campaign.³²  In 2016, Sandberg endorsedHillary Clinton for President.³³

Sandberg has been a major donor to Democratic Party candidates, such as SenatorsElizabeth Warren (D-MA) andPatty Murray (D-WA) and former Sen.Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), in addition to Democratic Party organizations, such as the Rhode Island Democratic State Committee and theDemocratic Congressional Campaign Committee.³⁴

Chris Hughes

Chris Hughes is a co-founder ofFacebook and early adviser to the company. Hughes left Facebook in 2007 to work as a digital media adviser to then-SenatorBarack Obama’s campaign for president.³⁵

Hughes is married toSean Eldridge, the former political director of pro-same-sex marriage advocacy organization Freedom to Marry.³⁶ Eldridge unsuccessfully ran as a Democratic candidate for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2014.³⁷

In 2012, Hughes the purchased left-of-center magazine The New Republic and became its editor-in-chief  until he sold the publication in 2016 due to struggles with writers and editors.³⁸³⁹ The paper was eventually purchased by Oregon publisher Win McCormack.⁴⁰

Hughes endorsedHillary Clinton for president in the 2016 election.⁴¹

In May 2019, Hughes called for the U.S. government to break up Facebook in an op-ed he wrote for theNew York Times. Citing a number of private conversations in which Zuckerberg confessed that he wanted to achieve complete “domination” over the social media market, Hughes argued that Facebook had intentionally become too powerful for other companies to compete with, and lawmakers therefore must step in and play their historical role as the disruptors of monopolies for the benefit of a more competitive private sector.²²

Dustin Moskovitz

Dustin Moskovitz is a technology entrepreneur and co-founder of Facebook. Moskovitz and his wife, formerWall Street Journal reporterCari Tuna, are the founders of the philanthropy Good Ventures, a group which plans to give all the couple’s net worth (estimated at over $12 billion) in a giving pledge.⁴²

In 2018, Moskovitz donated to several House Democratic candidates.⁴³

In 2016, Moskovitz donated over $400,000 to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign along with several Democratic U.S. Senate candidates. He also donated to state parties in Iowa, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New Jersey, Maine, Utah, Rhode Island, Florida, Georgia, Wyoming, Mississippi, Arkansas, Montana, Ohio, Wisconsin, South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Nevada, Louisiana, Missouri, South Dakota, New Hampshire, Kentucky, Idaho, and Minnesota⁴⁴

Sean Parker

Sean Parker is a technology entrepreneur who founded the file sharing network Napster and worked as the first president ofFacebook. Parker met Facebook co-foundersMark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin in 2004; he later became the company’s president in summer 2004.⁴⁵ In 2005, Parker was asked to leave Facebook as president after being arrested for cocaine possession.⁴⁶

Parker has donated to both Democrats and Republicans but leans towards Democrats on issues like campaign finance reform and a Nevada gun control initiative.^47 48

In 2010, Parker donated $100,000 to the CaliforniaProposition 19 campaign, which would have legalized marijuana throughout the state.⁴⁹ In 2016, he donated $400,000 toProposition 63 campaign which would have required background checks for all ammunition purchases in California.⁵⁰

Parker played an instrumental role in adding provisions for Opportunity Zones in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.⁵¹

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