Meta, the dad or mum firm of Facebook and Instagram, has donated $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural fund, a spokesperson for the social media big confirmed to CBS News Wednesday evening.
The information was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
The transfer comes two weeks after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg traveled to Florida and dined with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago property.
At the time, Trump adviser Stephen Miller advised Fox News that Zuckerberg had “made clear that he needs to help the nationwide renewal of America beneath Trump’s management.”
Trump was removed from Facebook following the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol when it decided that his posts had probably inspired the violence that occurred that day.
The firm restored his account in early 2023, however with sure “guardrails.” In July, those restrictions have been lifted by Meta.
Trump has a mixed 65 million followers on Facebook and Instagram.
In August, Zuckerberg submitted a letter to Congress claiming that the Biden administration in 2021 “repeatedly pressured our groups for months to censor sure COVID-19 content material, together with humor and satire.” He known as “the federal government stress flawed” and stated he would push again towards any comparable efforts sooner or later.
Silicon Valley has been uneasy concerning the type of the therapy it might get from a second Trump administration, and the donation might sign an try by Zuckerberg to thaw these tensions.
Trump’s choice of Brendan Carr, a distinguished critic of massive tech, to steer the Federal Communications Commission has probably heightened these issues.
CBS News has reached out to the Trump transition workforce for touch upon the donation.
