UFC boss Dana White and two others join Meta board of directors

Meta has announced the appointment of three new board members, including Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) CEO and close ally of Donald Trump Dana White.

Meanwhile, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg appears to be working to repair his relationship with Trump ahead of his inauguration this month.

Former British Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party Sir Nick Clegg quits as global chief of social media giant.

Other new members of Meta's board include John Elkann, leader of European investment firm Exor, and former Microsoft executive Charlie Songhurst.

“Dana, John, and Charlie will bring a wealth of expertise and perspective to help us address the tremendous opportunities in the future of artificial intelligence, wearables, and human connection,” Zuckerberg said in a statement.

The social media giant also praised Mr White for his role in transforming the UFC into a global business.

White posted on Meta's Instagram that he loves social media and is “excited to be a small part of the future of (artificial intelligence) and emerging technologies.”

Mr White has previously denied any claims of hate speech on UFC platforms, insisting he supports free speech.

A year ago, he had a tense conversation with a reporter who quickly went viral, who questioned why he allowed the fighter to make anti-LGBT comments.

“People can say whatever they want and they can believe whatever they want to believe,” Mr White countered.

UFC boss has a close relationship Working with Trump for decades.

Mr White's appointment follows news that Sir Nick will be replaced at Meta by his deputy, Joel Caplan, a prominent Republican who handles relations between social media companies and the Republican Party.

Relations between Mehta and Trump have softened significantly in recent months.

Relations between the two countries have been frosty at least since Trump was banned from Facebook and Instagram following the January 2021 riots at the U.S. Capitol.

In August, Trump wrote in a book that Zuckerberg would “spend the rest of his life in jail” if he tried to interfere in the 2024 U.S. election.

But the president-elect later softened his stance, saying on a podcast in October that it was a “good thing” Zuckerberg was “not involved in the election” and thanking him for a personal call after he faced an assassination attempt. Telephone.

Mr. Zuckerberg visits Mar-a-Lago and had dinner with trump. After winning the election in November. Earlier this month, he Donate $1 million (£800,000) to the President-elect’s inaugural fund.