Meta kills diversity programs, claiming DEI has become “too charged”

Meta claims it will find other ways to hire employees from different backgrounds.

See full article...

 

[Resolute]

I very frequently wonder how many of them are hijacked accounts, or if they're just alts for frequent posters to be able to take their masks off.

Guaranteed. Aurich and the staff always say they've never been breached when this pattern repeats itself - and I absolutely believe them. But someone who registered 10 years ago with email x, username y and password z has that same combination listed in haveibeenpwnd a dozen times over. It's someone else's breach that gives access to anyone looking to hijack and sell access to these dead accounts.

 

[CanardDeCourse]

Facebook was created to rate and objectify women on campus. Unsurprisingly, it was all downhill from there.

Bluesky and Mastodon seems to be the only options at this point.

 

[Resolute]

That's what DEI is for. So racist assholes don't just circular-file the resume for someone with a surname they can't pronounce.

And not just racist assholes. But also people who are so unaware of their own unconscious biases - and we all have them - that they can lie to themselves with a straight face that they have never allowed someone's "group identity" to influence them.

 

[Frodo Douchebaggins]

Guaranteed. Aurich and the staff always say they've never been breached when this pattern repeats itself - and I absolutely believe them. But someone who registered 10 years ago with email x, username y and password z has that same combination listed in haveibeenpwnd a dozen times over. It's someone else's breach that gives access to anyone looking to hijack and sell access to these dead accounts.

Yeah that's what I figure. Combination of low-sec forgotten accounts and the alts.

 

[Sajuuk]

Well, actually. The comment might have had a point. Because whatever one might think of what the Republican party has become today, it's anything but conservative. People really need to stop using that word to refer to Republicans.

Fuck that noise. Conservative is what they call themselves, and this is what conservatives have always been. This is the direction every conservative party across the globe is following. This is the society they've always been wanting to conserve.

 

[Frodo Douchebaggins]

And not just racist assholes. But also people who are so unaware of their own unconscious biases - and we all have them - that they can lie to themselves with a straight face that they have never allowed someone's "group identity" to influence them.

Indeed!

 

[Snark218]

Fuck that noise. Conservative is what they call themselves, and this is what conservatives have always been. This is the direction every conservative party across the globe is following. This is the society they've always been wanting to conserve.

I sometimes wonder whether [gestures around] all this is what conservatives always really wanted, consciously, or whether there's some weak point or flaw in conservative thinking such that this is their failure mode. Like, did they always really want a bigoted anocracy run by broligarchs and shitty ex-reality TV stars? Or do broligarchs and shitty ex-reality TV stars have some weird mojo that makes conservatives turn into fascist dickweeds? Or is there just always a hard core of fascist dickweeds waiting to be activated, amidst a large group of people who vote Republican because their daddy did and taxes are bad?

 

[pnellesen]

Do you guys even know a conservative?

How can we not? Trump hasn't shut the fuck up for 10 years.

I know MANY conservatives. And almost to a person they LOVE the "meritocracy" dog whistle, along with the "white men are discriminated against". I could go on, but yeah, I'm QUITE familiar with "conservative" racist talking points (when the black guys aren't around, that is)

 

[Snark218]

Oh yeah, tell me how I’m wrong, instead of just saying I’m wrong.

Because, you’re actually saying you discriminate against groups by favoring a persons “viewpoint” over someone else’s. When in reality, DEI means you shouldn’t even question someone’s viewpoint in the first place.

Look, kiddo, I already did. Last page. Scroll up. And if you think "DEI means you shouldn’t even question someone’s viewpoint in the first place" you're too goddamn ignorant to even be able to hold up your end of the conversation, so what are you even doing here?

 

[barich]

There was a 2004 study which indicated that when people with equal qualifications had "white" sounding names (think John), they got 50% more callbacks for job applications than people with "black" sounding names (think Jamal). At the time, even people with "black" sounding names with better qualifications got fewer callbacks than people with "white" sounding names with worse ones.

There's been a more recent study indicating that this is still a problem, though somewhat less of one now than in 2004, depending on the industry:

https://www.npr.org/2024/04/11/1243713272/resume-bias-study-white-names-black-names
This is what DEI programs resolve. Not to hire unqualified candidates because they're of a certain race or gender, but to eliminate the biases that exist in hiring that prevent a level playing field.

Anyone who isn't in favor of DEI is not for a level playing field; they're in favor of the one that favored them.

 

[ScifiGeek]

It's like watching how Hitler gained power.

The first thing that popped into my mind: "Hitler is coming to power, and Zuck is loudly proclaiming his allegiance." I wondered if I could say that without someone bringing up Godwin's law, but I think most of realize the comparison is totally appropriate now.

Zuck is quickly and publicly dismantling everything the Right(White) Wing complained about. Fact checkers gone. DEI Gone.

Million Dollar public "donation" to Trump's Inaugural Fund.

I suppose we will soon see Facebook advertising on Twitter because it will soon be illegal to NOT advertise with them if they ask...

I ponder more modern parallels like Trump with Putin as he muses openly about annexing my country.

Fucking Hell does this timeline suck...

 

[Snark218]

I know MANY conservatives. And almost to a person they LOVE the "meritocracy" dog whistle, along with the "white men are discriminated against". I could go on, but yeah, I'm QUITE familiar with "conservative" racist talking points (when the black guys aren't around, that is)

Ever had the experience of having another white guy thinking you're not going to disagree with anything he says, and just letting the fuck loose in a bar or something?

 

[DarthSlack]

Then focusing on hiring based on skills should do the job, no?

Yes, that's exactly right. So here's a question for you: What the ever living fuck do you think DEI does?

 

[Snark218]

I am 100% sure you don't. The garbage removal company for you home. Are you entirely sure it is ran by a decent person? The electric company? Producers for all your clothes? Components of your electronics? One slip, and you are not decent person.

It's not incredulity, it's the absurdity of identifying yourself with the products you use.

I'm sure this is a comforting false equivalency for you to draw. Of course nobody is a perfectly ethical consumer. That's not possible. But that doesn't get your guilty ass off the hook for supporting companies owned by literal fucking fascists because you're ethically paralyzed and don't give a shit about anything.

 

[Snark218]

Are you claiming moral superiority here? Because comparing a company ending its DEI program with genocide is exactly why your woke train is coming to a fucking halt.

Ten years, 486 comments. Anyone want to hazard a guess? Necro account with a stolen login, or sock puppet?

 

[DarthSlack]

Sorry, we know what it is.

No, you don't have a fucking clue. Not a single one. You don't even have a clue where the clue stick is.

 

[fancysunrise]

pathetic

 

[j_alex]

Why don't corporations jump this high when democrats are in power?

The last one put Lena Khan in charge at the FTC and she went to work. I sorta suspect all of this is a spanking for the attempt to return to anything resembling a regulatory regime.

 

[Sajuuk]

I am 100% sure you don't. The garbage removal company for you home. Are you entirely sure it is ran by a decent person? The electric company? Producers for all your clothes? Components of your electronics? One slip, and you are not decent person.

It's not incredulity, it's the absurdity of identifying yourself with the products you use.

Skipping over the fact that the person you're quoting specifically said "when a choice is available" and you jumped to utilities which are typically a natural monopoly, let's discuss the insidiousness of the closing sentence.

It's not incredulity, it's the absurdity of identifying yourself with the products you use.

How can you not identify with the products you use in a capitalist society wherein consumption is culture? I'm constantly told that if I don't like something in this capitalist society, I can just not buy it, but the actual act of doing so is also considered laughable. Bit funny when you think about it, huh?

 

[ERIFNOMI]

Guaranteed. Aurich and the staff always say they've never been breached when this pattern repeats itself - and I absolutely believe them. But someone who registered 10 years ago with email x, username y and password z has that same combination listed in haveibeenpwnd a dozen times over. It's someone else's breach that gives access to anyone looking to hijack and sell access to these dead accounts.

Ars doesn't have to be the source of the leak. Password reuse is a bitch.

 

[DarthSlack]

Focuses on things other than skills, obviously.

THAR SHE BlOWS!!!!!!!

You simply couldn't be more wrong. And apparently you have no interest in not being wrong. On the off chance that you're not a complete moron, DEI is focused on removing factors from the hiring process that distract from focusing on skills. Until you understand that, you can take a seat and let the adults talk.

 

[superstition2]

NBC has reported that Facebook now will allow people to post that homosexuality is mental illness, misinformation that is extremely toxic. Check out the language that Meta provided as the explanation if you want to become very sickened.

The gay = crazy myth was dispelled in 1956 by Dr. Evelyn Hooker, who decided to actually investigate the matter for the first time instead of doing what everyone else had done which is use "common sense" (wild bigoted assumption based on historical socialization). One of the experts who reviewed the data she gathered was so convinced of his "common sense" bigotry that he admitted later that he reviewed the data completely two times because he couldn't accept that gay people aren't crazy. At least he had the integrity to not only come out in favor of the facts but admitted his bigotry as a teachable moment. Despite that, it took the APA until the 70s to finally recognize the science. Zealots continue to falsely claim that the decision to remove homosexuality from the DSM was done primarily due to political pressure.

NPR even gave one of those guys' daughters (Spitzer) something like 22–27 minutes (I don't recall the exact number of minutes) during the Bush W administration to try to convince the public of this lie. It took her 15 minutes before she got to the name Hooker (and her pathetic attempt to handwaive the science). According to this particular mythology, poor social scientists like her father Spitzer were so bullied by horrible gay activists that they simply had no choice but to turn their backs on scientific truth. What a crock... thanks NPR. Did NPR follow that piece with a rebuttal or even a sentence or two about the actual facts? Nope. I can only guess that, like Zuckerberg, there was a decision to try to curry favor with the administration.

Facebook will hold "your" account hostage for 30 days if you try to delete it to protest this corporate hate for profit (or for any other reason, such as not wanting to help Zuckerberg build his flaming moat).

I hope that Ars will cover this. It's closely related to the DEI matter, of course — but it's certainly noteworthy enough to be an additional article. The words provided by Meta as explanation/justification are truly breathtaking in their odiousness and viciousness.

 

[Snark218]

If you can’t answer the simple question, that’s fine. But you don’t need to make comments meant to belittle someone when you can’t provide the answer.

And if it’s the comment I think it is. It’s you saying that not what DEI means but not actually providing answers for how’s it’s actually practiced. You never actually answer the questions. You’ll tell people they are wrong.

I'm not going to repeat myself, and I will absolutely belittle the fuck out of you if you demand I feed you like a baby bird.

And I don't owe you a god damn master class on DEI, you absolute doorstop. You could figure it the fuck out if you wanted to. You're staring at a machine that gives you access to damn near the sum total of human knowledge. You can ensure you have the first clue what you're talking about before you wade into a conversation to share your perspective. Or you could have entered this thread with an open mind and asked good, probing questions to understand it better. But you didn't do either of those easy, straightforward things, so I will conclude you don't actually give a shit and just want to argue. Why should I waste my time educating the uncurious? Belittling you, at least, is kind of fun.

 

[Tea_and_Coffee]

This comment being downvoted so heavily highlights the reason we need society to purge DEI and media censorship. This is the objectively correct take. These policies have literally rewired people's brains to think racism is noble, and attacks on free speech are good for democracies. It's profoundly insane.

Ahh, I see. It is the free speech that allows for people to state that transgender and gay people are mentally ill, but not the free speech that allows for Christian men to be called useless. You are horrid and painfully ill-informed, and I am delighted to use my limited free speech to say this before the "purge of DEI and media censorship" results in people like me being culled in the next decade.

Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.

There will be delighted scholars a few centuries down the line that, when they get the old, ancient technology working, will be able to draw such easy connections between the worsening of society and how people cheered it on, much in the way that people did the Nazis, and how they cried victory at the "defeat of DEI", were pleased at creeping Christian nationalism so they could ignore the changing climate, and clung to their worthless cryptocurrency apps when the nukes were dropped in the water wars.

 

[Snark218]

The hiring process is too late to address the problem of the birth lottery though. By that point you're stuck with candidates who either do or do not have the required skills. Fixing the birth lottery problem would need to be done at something closer to the elementary school age to make sure people have a more even starting condition.

Ironically, the people I know who are most adamantly against DEI are actually minorities. It must be horrible to actually be qualified and have to go through your entire career with everyone assuming you're useless. I had an American Indian friend who worked on a team where literally everyone on the team was a DEI hire and he was the only person who wasn't entirely useless. He eventually got fed up and quit and they had to just disband the entire team because they could no longer function when the only person with any skills quit.

I'm a white guy so I've never been a DEI hire, but I do actually have a similar experience from early in my career. I interviewed for and was offered a technical position that I was qualified for and they pulled a bait and switch on me. Just before I started they said, oh by the way we actually need you to work on THIS team for awhile first and manage this other equipment until we finish decommissioning it. I was nervous about it but I figured I already know everyone on the team so they should be able to train me in a reasonable amount of time.

To my surprise though, I showed up on day 1 to find that they had fired the entire team just before I started. So here I am replacing a team of 5 people and managing equipment I had no experience with without any training. I spent 6 months essentially doing my job by googling how the F do I do XYZ, to find vendor documentation on how to do a job I was clearly unqualified for. I eventually moved into the position I was actually hired for and qualified for but I would not have wished that prior experience on anyone.

Holy fuck did you just pull a "my black friend" card? Jeeeeeesus christ.

 

[pug fugly]

If you still use Facebook or any associated product, no matter your reason or excuse, you are part of the problem. . . . . same goes for Twitter, or whatever the fuckwits call it now.

 

[DarthSlack]

I'm a white guy so I've never been a DEI hire

JFC, have you ever considered the possibility that all the jobs you've had are because you're a white guy? And in case you missed the memo, calling people a "DEI hire" is pretty fucking derogatory.

 

[bubish]

A little bit on anecdata:
I work for a company that has a strong DEI program. As a result, I work with a very diverse group, especially considering that I'm in software development. And you know what? Every one of the people I work with - regardless of race, nationality, or gender - is unquestionably qualified for their job. So no, embracing DEI hasn't hurt our team in the least.

And yes, we do still hire some straight, cis, white men as well.

 

[Emotion_ology]

This needs to be a significant portion of the next D platform. It needs to have teeth and follow-through. Especially since we're going to see what it's like to live in a country controlled by the rich.

Trump won because democrats failed to impose any actual consequences for his actions, and people saw that there were no consequences for hateful, reckless, ill-informed, idiotic decisions and acted accordingly.

So yes. Teeth and follow through are necessary.

 

[Litazia]

Meritocracy was coined in a dystopian scifi novel that was satirizing the concept.

Are you telling me that "meritocracy" is the original Torment Nexus?

 

[seitojack]

Just imagine if people would just stop supporting companies like Meta, or any other corporation owned and run by the billionaire sociopaths.

 

[passivesmoking]

If you think being inclusive is "too charged", you might just be an angry rich white boy.

 

[chaos215bar2]

I hope that Ars will cover this. It's closely related to the DEI matter, of course — but it's certainly noteworthy enough to be an additional article. The words provided by Meta as explanation/justification are truly breathtaking in their odiousness and viciousness.

I'd second this. It would be great to get some clear-headed coverage of these changes, because what I've seen of the new policy is absolutely astounding, and not something I would have ever expected to see coming out of even Facebook. This definitely seems like something Ars should cover.