Meta announced the appointment of three new board members, including the CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and close ally of Donald Trump, Dana White.
It comes as Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg appears to be working to repair ties with Trump, ahead of the US president-elect’s inauguration this month.
A few days ago, former British Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat leader Sir Nick Clegg left his post as chairman of global affairs at the social media giant.
Other new Meta board members include John Elkann, who heads European investment firm Exor, and Charlie Songhurst, a former Microsoft executive.
“Dana, John and Charlie will add deep expertise and perspective that will help us seize the enormous opportunities ahead with (artificial intelligence), wearable devices and the future of human connection,” Mr. Zuckerberg said in a press release.
The social media giant also praised Mr White’s role in transforming the UFC into a global company.
In a post on Meta’s Instagram, White said he loves social media and is “excited to play a role in the future of (artificial intelligence) and emerging technologies.”
Mr White has previously rejected any suggestion that UFC platforms hate speech, insisting he supports free speech.
A year ago, his tense exchange with a reporter who asked why he allowed fighters to make anti-LGBT remarks went viral.
“People can say what they want and believe what they want,” Mr. White retorted.
The UFC boss has had a close relationship with Trump for decades.
Mr White’s appointment follows the announcement that Sir Nick was being replaced at Meta by his deputy, prominent Republican Joel Kaplan, who managed the social media company’s relationship with the Republican Party.
There has been an apparent thaw between Meta and Trump in recent months.
Relations had been frosty at least since Trump was banned from Facebook and Instagram following the January 2021 U.S. Capitol riot.
In August, Trump wrote in a book that Mr Zuckerberg would “spend the rest of his life in prison” if he tried to interfere in the 2024 US election.
But the president-elect later softened his stance, saying in a podcast in October that it was “good” for Mr. Zuckerberg to “stay out of the election,” and thanking him for a personal phone call after facing an assassination attempt.
Mr. Zuckerberg visited Mar-a-Lago and had dinner with Trump after his election victory in November. Earlier this month, he donated $1 million (£800,000) to the president-elect’s inauguration fund.
