Mark Zuckerberg's Swing to the Right, Brings Dana White onto Meta Board

[Social Media]

 

In a move signaling a shift in alliances, Mark Zuckerberg has added Dana White, CEO of UFC, to Meta’s board of directors. This decision aligns with the company's broader efforts to strengthen ties with prominent figures linked to President-elect Donald Trump.  

 

Dana White was a vocal supporter of Trump during his campaign, frequently appearing alongside him at events such as UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. Zuckerberg’s decision to include White on the board not only reflects a shared interest in mixed martial arts but also highlights Meta’s evolving approach to political and cultural partnerships.  

 

In addition to White, Zuckerberg has welcomed Charlie Songhurst, an investor and former Microsoft executive, and John Elkann, CEO of Exor NV, to the board. With these appointments, Meta’s board has grown to 13 members. However, Zuckerberg retains majority voting control through the company's dual-class stock structure.  

 

“Charlie, Dana, and John will add a depth of expertise and perspective that will help us tackle the massive opportunities ahead with AI, wearables, and the future of human connection,” Zuckerberg stated.  

 

White, 55, has long been a transformative force in the sports industry, turning UFC into a global phenomenon. His relationship with Zuckerberg extends beyond the boardroom, with White seeking Zuckerberg's advice last year on integrating AI into UFC’s ranking system. The addition of White, a close friend of the Meta CEO, marks a significant step in Meta’s strategy as it navigates opportunities in emerging technologies.  

 

Zuckerberg’s interest in mixed martial arts, a sport he occasionally practices, further cements the connection between him and White. The tech billionaire’s passion for MMA even fueled rumors of a potential bout with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, another high-profile Trump supporter.  

 

This latest development follows a series of moves by Zuckerberg to recalibrate Meta’s political alignments. After years of strained relations with Trump, Zuckerberg donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund—a stark departure from Meta’s previous practice of abstaining from contributions to both Trump’s 2017 and Joe Biden’s 2021 inaugural funds.  

 

Zuckerberg’s actions suggest a deliberate effort to foster a stronger relationship with the incoming administration. In November, he dined with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, further underscoring this shift.  

 

Adding to these efforts, Meta recently named Joel Kaplan, an executive with strong Republican ties, as its policy chief. These decisions collectively indicate Meta’s strategic pivot, reflecting Zuckerberg’s vision of aligning the company with influential political and cultural figures as it embraces new opportunities in technology and beyond.  

 

 Based on a report by Daily Mail 2024-01-08

 

 

 

[JonnyF]

Zuckerberg has no principles, he just follows trends.

 

He can see Wokeism is dying a slow, painful death and realizes he needs to get on board with the likes of White, Trump, Musk etc.

 

Like one of those snivelling plebs in the workplace who always tries to befriend the person who they think will be the next boss. 

 

 

[bamnutsak]

 

Former President Donald Trump writes in a new book set to be published next week that Mark Zuckerberg plotted against him during the 2020 election and said the Meta chief executive would “spend the rest of his life in prison” if he did it again.

 

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/08/28/trump-zuckerberg-election-book-00176639

 

 

Meta looking for ‘sweetheart deal’ with Trump: FTC chair

 

https://thehill.com/policy/technology/5071915-ftc-chair-meta-lawsuit-trump/

 

 

 

 

[spidermike007]

Zuck has shown his true colors and has sold out completely. He has sold his soul in order to avoid problems and issues, he has now bowed his knee and is showing total fealty to the new king. 

 

 

[deadbeat]

Where's Nick Clegg?

[Thingamabob]

4 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Zuckerberg has no principles, he just follows trends.

 

He can see Wokeism is dying a slow, painful death and realizes he needs to get on board with the likes of White, Trump, Musk etc.

 

Like one of those snivelling plebs in the workplace who always tries to befriend the person who they think will be the next boss. 

 

 

Love him, or loathe him, these are smart moves designed to protect his business and the jobs of his employees.

[Will B Good]

I see Nick Clegg has jumped ship....even he can't face up to what Zuckerberg is doing

[Negita43]

Ethics, Morality, Decency, Fair mindedness, all sacrificed at the alter of Money and Power

[JonnyF]

24 minutes ago, Thingamabob said:

Love him, or loathe him, these are smart moves designed to protect his business and the jobs of his employees.

 

I don't really have a strong opinion on him, but as long as he stops burying negative stories about people linked to the Democrats (particularly the Biden crime family) then this is a good move. 

[G_Money]

Never too late for the Never Trumpers to become Trumpers.

 

Certainly more of them are on the way.

 

While the forum members continue to whine and scream January 6th.   You’re the only ones that care anymore.  The rest of the world has moved on focusing on the bright future that will become reality under President Trump.

 

 By all means, continue your loathing.  It’s great entertainment.

[riclag]

14 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

 

I don't really have a strong opinion on him, but as long as he stops burying negative stories about people linked to the Democrats (particularly the Biden crime family) then this is a good move. 

All the humpty dumpty tools of the propaganda machine of the left are in a great fall …. Part of the left’s censorship machine .

“The executive director of the fact-checking site PolitiFact ripped Meta owner Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday after the billionaire tech boss announced that his platforms would end fact-checking”.

 

https://www.foxnews.com/media/politifact-executive-rips-metas-zuckerberg-announcing-end-fact-checking-platforms

 

Wikipedia & mediabiasfactcheck could

learn from this.

[Patong2021]

Why the hostility? If he didn't do this, many  of the critics here would be attacking Meta for not changing. Meta is a public company owned by its shareholders.  Zuckerburg is puppet and  does not control Meta. On the contrary, anyone who has a mutual fund participation through the largest mutual funds in the USA has control.  It only takes 2 of the mutual funds to out vote the spineless Zuckerburg.

 

The largest shareholders include Vanguard Group Inc, BlackRock, Inc., Fmr Llc, State Street Corp, VTSMX - Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares, VFINX - Vanguard 500 Index Fund Investor Shares, Jpmorgan Chase & Co, Geode Capital Management, Llc, Price T Rowe Associates Inc /md/, and FCNTX - Fidelity

 

Management has a legal obligation to manage  the company to legally maximize the financial return for the shareholders. A failure to do is a breach of fiduciary duty by the board members and they are liable in the event of a successful shareholder  action.

 

Instead of attacking Zuckerburg,  why not criticize the board? Quite a collection of people far worse than Zuckerburg. 

 

- John Elkann is CEO of Exor, one of the largest European investment companies, controlled by the Agnelli family. He is also Executive Chair of Ferrari and Stellantis

- Charlie Songhurst a technology investor who currently invests in more than 500 startups globally.  He previously served as General Manager and Head of Global Corporate Strategy at Microsoft.

-Peggy Alford, former Executive Vice President, Global Sales, PayPal Holdings, Inc.;

- Marc L. Andreessen, Andreessen Horowitz; 

- John Arnold, Co-Founder, Arnold Ventures;

- Drew Houston, Co-Founder and CEO, Dropbox, Inc.;

- Nancy Killefer, Retired Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company;

- Robert M. Kimmitt, Meta’s Lead Independent Director and Senior International Counsel at WilmerHale LLP; C

- Hock E. Tan, President and CEO, Broadcom Inc.; 

- Tracey T. Travis, Executive Vice President, Senior Adviser to the CEO, The Estée Lauder Companies, Inc.;

-Dana White, President and CEO, Ultimate Fighting Championship;

- Tony Xu, Co-Founder and CEO, DoorDash, Inc.

 

 

[WDSmart]

I'm sorry to see this. Facebook is my main social media site, and I'd hate to see it go too far to the right. However, I do support Free Speech and certainly don't take everything I read on Facebook or other social media sites as true facts. I treat it like conversations with people sitting around drinking beer in a bar. They can be interesting, but I wouldn't count on any of them to be the absolute truth. 

[In Full Agreement]

35 minutes ago, G_Money said:

Never too late for the Never Trumpers to become Trumpers.

 

 

But that'd require a frontal lobotomy, wouldn't it?

 

 

 

[G_Money]

29 minutes ago, In Full Agreement said:

 

 

But that'd require a frontal lobotomy, wouldn't it?

 

 

 

Only in your case.  

[novacova]

42 minutes ago, WDSmart said:

Facebook is my main social media site, and I'd hate to see it go too far to the right.

If you weren’t so extreme far left, then center wouldn’t seem so far right. The farther you are in one direction then the farther it is for you to the other. 

[WDSmart]

37 minutes ago, novacova said:

If you weren’t so extreme far left, then center wouldn’t seem so far right. The farther you are in one direction then the farther it is for you to the other. 

You are right. I am very far left, so I do consider the "center" to be too accepting of the right. 

[mokwit]

[mokwit]

2 hours ago, Patong2021 said:

Zuckerburg is puppet and  does not control Meta. On the contrary, anyone who has a mutual fund participation through the largest mutual funds in the USA has control.  It only takes 2 of the mutual funds to out vote the spineless Zuckerburg.

He controls the company through a dual-class share structure where he holds Class B shares, which have ten votes per share, compared to Class A shares that have only one vote per share. This structure gives him significant control over the company despite owning a relatively smaller percentage of total shares. Through this mechanism, Zuckerberg controls approximately 61% of the voting power, ensuring his influence over corporate decisions, even though he owns around 13% of the company's shares.

 

[G_Money]

Another leftist seeing that Trump's way is the best way.

 

 

[PETERTHEEATER]

Mark, Mark! Sounds like a dog with a lisp.

[Social Media]

A foreign language post and a conspiracy post by the same member have been removed

[SiSePuede419]

Apparently Zuck has never heard of Wikipedia which is basically "community notes".

Not a new concept.

[mokwit]

6 minutes ago, SiSePuede419 said:

Apparently Zuck has never heard of Wikipedia which is basically "community notes".

Not a new concept.

He probably could have got some tips from wiki on censorship and describing anything the Left doesn't like as a conspiracy theory. Wiki has fallen

[Patong2021]

8 hours ago, mokwit said:

He controls the company through a dual-class share structure where he holds Class B shares, which have ten votes per share, compared to Class A shares that have only one vote per share. This structure gives him significant control over the company despite owning a relatively smaller percentage of total shares. Through this mechanism, Zuckerberg controls approximately 61% of the voting power, ensuring his influence over corporate decisions, even though he owns around 13% of the company's shares.

 

 

Yes, on paper Mark Zuckerberg's voting power in Meta Platforms (Facebook) is 56.9%. And yes, he has influence. However, the USA  has three popular types of litigation that interfere with Zuckerberg's grand designs;

1. Oppression Remedies and request for relief: These include actions arising from allegations of of fraud, or unfairness, or illegitimacy. These  actions relate to claims by minority shareholders   where the majority shareholder(s);

-redirected the company’s net profits to their own advantage

- took actions that diluted  shares

- denied  access to information or restricted or blocked minority participation

- made unfair dividend distribution

2. Derivative action litigation where minority shareholders will file a lawsuit against the majority shareholder(s) alleging management wrong doing  or breach of fiduciary duty.

3. Employees who  have a retirement plan that includes shares or deferred profit sharing can file fiduciary liability actions.

 

And the fact is, the minority shareholders have been making Zuckerberg's life difficult. For example; 

- Nov 22, 2024: US Supreme Court allows shareholder lawsuit against Facebook to go forward.

The lawsuit was brought by investors who claim they were misled by the social media giant about risks from a massive data breach.  The suit was brought by investors, led by Amalgamated Bank, after Facebook’s stock price plunged in 2018 following news that the Republican-aligned political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica had improperly obtained the personal information of 30 million Facebook users.

 

-22 Oct. 2022: Shareholder Lawsuit Charges Meta Platforms with Prioritizing Profits over Shareholders, Class action on behalf of diversified shareholders says insiders willfully ignored costs the Company imposes on society and diversified investors to boost traffic on its platform and generate more ad revenue.

[mokwit]

Why don't you just admit that you don't know what you were talking about, rather than come back and claim a couple of frivolous class actions of they type all companies are subjected to somehow override majority voter control.

[GammaGlobulin]

My only question might be:

 

Will Zuckerberger's shift toward Trump provide Zuck with what is needed to solve his problem of the.....

 

Metaverse?

 

Once a nitwit, always a nitwit.

 

 

Zuck can run.

But, can he hide from his AI?

 

[GammaGlobulin]

17 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Zuckerberg has no principles, he just follows trends.

 

He can see Wokeism is dying a slow, painful death and realizes he needs to get on board with the likes of White, Trump, Musk etc.

 

Like one of those snivelling plebs in the workplace who always tries to befriend the person who they think will be the next boss. 

 

 

 

Or, line one of those snivelling Harvard undergrad coeds....

 

 

[Negita43]

22 hours ago, deadbeat said:

Where's Nick Clegg?

Who?

[Patong2021]

8 hours ago, mokwit said:

Why don't you just admit that you don't know what you were talking about, rather than come back and claim a couple of frivolous class actions of they type all companies are subjected to somehow override majority voter control.

 

When you have experience of managing corporate litigation and  experience with derivative class action suits, you can come back  and be dismissive. The fact of the matter is that 3 of the 5 most common D&O litigation actions are what I  referenced. Your position is that Zuckerberg as a majority shareholder has absolute control of Meta and can do as he wishes.

 

The reality is that Zuckerberg does not and is subject to a board that must approve all  of his grand initiatives. The board also includes independent directors. There are 18+ major lawsuits ongoing against Meta, some of them involve regulatory  agencies in different jurisdictions that will have an impact on Meta operations.

 

My original point is that any number of the major minority investors can block Zuckerberg if they can show his actions will harm them as per the  reasons listed above.

 

You disagree, Fine. Tell me what is factually incorrect. I suspect that you just don't like me pointing out that Zuckerberg is not some diabolical evil  man operating in isolation and doing as he pleases. He is either enabled or blocked by the Meta board. You people always have to push some  deranged claim of conspiracy or subversive world plot.