Why Meta and Mark Zuckerberg are no longer supporting San Francisco Pride parade

Meta

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, won’t be joining this year’s San Francisco Pride, which is entirely different from the company’s earlier stance on LGBTQ+ inclusion, according to CNBC report.

However, this was not always the case. Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, personally called San Francisco Pride to make sure his company had a spot in the annual parade. Back in 2015, Facebook was briefly banned from the event over its strict real-name policy, which had upset LGBTQ+ users, especially transgender people who no longer used their legal names. The rule was being misused by bad actors to report and harass users.

After Facebook updated the policy, Zuckerberg himself reached out to SF Pride’s then-director to get Facebook back into the parade. The company proudly marched in the years that followed.

But things are very different now. San Francisco Pride officially cut ties with Meta in March this year. The decision came after the company scaled back several internal diversity programs aimed at hiring from marginalized groups. Meta also relaxed some of its content moderation rules, which, according to employees, could open doors to more online abuse targeted at LGBTQ+ communities and others.

Adding to the tension, Zuckerberg has also been seen trying to build ties with former President Donald Trump. This comes at a time when Trump has signed an executive order targeting companies that support diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

Since cutting ties, Suzanne Ford, the current executive director of SF Pride, says there’s been silence from Meta. “Why was it so important for Mark back then, and why is it so important now for him not to be associated with San Francisco Pride?” she questioned.

Meta has declined to comment on the situation.