Mark Zuckerberg Lauds Sheryl Sandberg Amid Blame For Meta's DEI Program: 'She Did Amazing Work'

Mark Zuckerberg has publicly praised former Meta Platforms Inc‘s META COO Sheryl Sandberg despite reports suggesting he held her responsible for the company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) program.

What Happened: Zuckerberg took to Threads on Friday to commend Sandberg for her contributions to Meta. This comes after a recent report indicated that Zuckerberg had pointed fingers at Sandberg for the shortcomings of Meta’s DEI initiatives.

“Sheryl did amazing work at Meta and will forever be a legend in the industry. She built one of the greatest businesses of all time and taught me much of what I know,” Zuckerberg wrote in his post.

Sandberg, in turn, responded to Zuckerberg’s post, expressing her gratitude for their years of collaboration and his friendship.

Why It Matters: Meta recently announced the rollback of its DEI programs, a move that coincided with a meeting between Zuckerberg and Stephen Miller, an advisor to President-elect Donald Trump.

Zuckerberg is making efforts to mend fences with Trump, as evidenced by their meeting at Mar-a-Lago earlier this month. This meeting, the second since the 2024 election, suggests a potential shift in the relationship between Meta and the incoming GOP administration.

Zuckerberg’s public support for Sandberg comes amid a series of significant changes at Meta. The company recently announced the end of its third-party fact-checking in favor of a community notes system.

This move was seen as a step towards restoring free expression on the platform, a direction that aligns with Trump’s stance on social media moderation.

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