This Month
Meta to spend more than $100b on AI efforts in 2025
The company plans to build a data centre “so large that it would cover a significant part of Manhattan”, Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post.
- Dana Wollman
- Updated
- Trump's America
Trump moves to sack all federal DEI staff in lightning purge
The president also encouraged the US private sector to follow the federal government’s lead and “end illegal DEI discrimination”.
- Updated
- Erica Green
- Exclusive
- Federal election
Dutton and PM turn to TikTok and podcasts in social media election
The Coalition and Labor are doubling down in a social media arms race, even as they team up to implement a world-first ban on under-16s accessing online platforms.
- Michael Read and Tom McIlroy
- Opinion
- Donald Trump
Trump’s triumphant return shows just how much the ground has shifted
The president-elect says his administration won’t waste a minute in delivering on its promises. The Trump revolution is under way.
- Jennifer Hewett
New think tank urges Albanese to stand up to Trump’s big tech buddies
The prime minister must go head-to-head with American social media giants over plans to regulate them more heavily, the Tech Policy Design Institute says.
- Tess Bennett
‘I’ve decided to move out low performers’: Meta cuts 5pc of staff
Affected workers in the US are expected to be notified on February 10, while those based in other countries will be informed at a later date.
- Riley Griffin
- Exclusive
- Social media
Meta must keep meddling state actors off Facebook: Jones
The assistant treasurer has warned the social media company its embrace of unfettered free speech must not pave the way for state actors to interfere in elections.
- Ronald Mizen
Silicon Valley’s lurch to the right catches the eye of local VCs
Some 15,000 kilometres away from Washington DC, where tech is cosying up to Donald Trump, local start-ups are pondering whether to ride the anti-DEI wave.
- Paul Smith
- Opinion
- Social media
The cravenness of Mark Zuckerberg
It is clear in which direction the influence was being exerted when the Meta boss went to have dinner with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago. He goes where the wind blows.
- Jemima Kelly
What Facebook’s shift to ‘bro culture’ means for corporate Australia
Australian executives are openly discussing what they were once too scared to say out loud: has the corporate world’s push for greater diversity gone too far?
- Patrick Durkin and Euan Black
Meta’s ‘free speech’ overhaul sparks advertisers’ concern
Ad bosses say the move to end fact-checking and weaken hate speech policies could cost the platform, where marketing makes up most of its $220b in annual sales.
- Hannah Murphy and Daniel Thomas
‘Cognitively diverse’: Meta’s new workforce mantra
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has axed all policies aimed at creating an equitable workforce as he laments the rise of “culturally neutered” companies.
- Updated
- Amelia McGuire
Elon Musk blames female firefighters, DEI for LA disaster
The billionaire’s use of X to stoke partisan outrage about the disaster underscores how the platform has transformed into a megaphone for his political views.
- Updated
- Pranshu Verma, Will Oremus and Trisha Thadani
Biden warns of gas price hikes, blasts Meta over fact-checking
Joe Biden said Meta’s fact-checking move was “shameful” in a rare briefing before his departure from the White House.
- Josh Wingrove
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Corporates should pick their social battles carefully
Trump 2.0 and the associated watering down of progressive corporate initiatives will be closely watched in C-suites and boardrooms around Australia.
- The AFR View
Meta reversal on political news boosts case for payments
Facebook owner Meta is facing fresh calls to reopen negotiations to pay Australian media outlets for news content.
- Andrew Tillett
Meta exempted top advertisers from standard content moderation
According to internal documents from 2023 seen by the FT, the Facebook and Instagram owner introduced a series of “guardrails” that “protect high spenders”.
- Hannah Murphy and Madhumita Murgia
- Opinion
- Social media
Fact is, Meta’s following Musk’s populist’s vibe
Whether Mark Zuckerberg made his decision to placate Trump or from a commitment to free speech, it’s a victory for freedom of expression.
- John Roskam
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Meta’s fact-checking about-face is good for Zuck, bad for democracy
Trump’s influence on the politics of big tech will surely embolden Meta to continue to thumb its nose at Australia’s sovereignty.
- The AFR View
How TikTok, YouTube and X police their platforms
Meta will replace its professional fact-checkers with a “community notes” system. How do other social media companies moderate content?
- Tess Bennett