The Trumpification of Meta: Company Now Dubbed “An Anti-LGBTQ Company”

Meta has announced more drastic policy and service changes that critics say firmly position the company and its platforms as hostile toward the LGBTQ+ community.

Earlier this week, Meta — which owns Facebook, Instagram, and Threads — unveiled several modifications to its restrictions on hateful conduct.

These changes, implemented under the guise of “free expression,” now allow users to post anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and misinformation. This includes false claims that LGBTQ+ individuals are mentally ill and the use of offensive slurs such as “tr*nny.”

CEO Mark Zuckerberg also declared that Meta would end its fact-checking programme, replacing it with a “community notes”-style system.

Further actions by Meta this week have drawn additional criticism, with many alleging these moves are designed to align with President-elect Donald Trump and his incoming right-wing administration.

This week, Meta quietly removed non-binary and transgender themes from its Messenger app. These themes, introduced in 2021 and 2022 to support Pride, allowed users to customise their chat windows with colours representing the transgender and non-binary pride flags.

While themes on Messenger are periodically rotated, the timing of the removal of these two specific options has raised eyebrows.

Leaked new training materials for Meta’s content moderators further show that the company will now permit statements such as: “Gays are freaks,” “Gays are not normal,” “Trans people are mentally ill,” “A trans person isn’t a he or she, it’s an it,” and “Get these tr*nnies out of my school.”

On Friday, Zuckerberg told staff that that Meta is ending its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programmes, which have faced attacks from right-wing lobby groups in the United States. These changes, effective immediately, will affect the company’s hiring practices, employee training, and supplier selection policies.

“Meta’s sweeping, hate-driven corporate policy and product changes this week are shocking and dangerous,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, CEO of US LGBTQ+ media advocacy group GLAAD, in response to the developments.

“The company’s litany of dangerous actions is unprecedented. In one week, they have dismantled an entire history of brand-safety best practices, consumer trust, and most importantly, user safety. These changes will harm users and make Meta’s platforms unsafe for everyone,” she said, adding, “Meta is now an anti-LGBTQ company.”

Earlier this month, Meta elected Dana White, a close friend of Trump, to its board of directors. Various sources also reported that Zuckerberg met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence on Friday. Meta’s CEO is reportedly among several tech leaders donating $1 million each to Trump’s inauguration on 20 January.