We all use social media to varying degrees, but lately, something hasn’t felt quite right. X, formerly known as Twitter, went to the dogs a long time ago. Now a digital cesspit of misinformation and pointlessly contrarian views, the platform is seeing users switch off in droves.
Elon Musk’s recent meddling in global politics and support for the likes of Donald Trump and Tommy Robinson are just the latest in a line of questionable actions in what I’m sure he believes to be the quest for free speech on the platform.
Free speech also seems to be troubling Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, who last week said Facebook and Instagram would no longer use third-party fact checkers ¬ something that was introduced after the 2016 US election, during which Facebook was accused of spreading misinformation.
Concerning as these changes are, they’re not as worrying as other changes at Meta. The company has said it will also drop some of its rules protecting LGBTQ people.
Changes included allowing users to share ‘allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation, given political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality.’
Those that use these platforms for business may want to ask themselves some ethical questions because nobody likes their adverts or posts appearing next to what is essentially unchecked hate speech.
It gets even more complex if you’re a business partner of Meta, like EssilorLuxottica. While Mark Zuckerberg isn’t comparable to Elon Musk in the crazy stakes, recent comments around reintroducing masculinity back into the workplace will be sure to raise a few eyebrows.
Diversity, equity and inclusion policies will also be changing at Meta, with the organisation’s own LGBTQ staff council voicing its concern.
I might be reading too much into potential alignment issues between Meta and EssilorLuxottica, but given Zuckerberg is pictured wearing Ray-Ban Meta sunglasses in half of the articles on the subject, there may be a few people asking whether Ray-Ban is right for them.
