Fool Me Once…

I had mistakenly regained some respect for Zuckerberg in recent years, but Meta’s announcements this week have once again made it clear that he possesses no character or integrity. I find these policy changes utterly shameful—not only because of the harm they will inflict on individuals and society as a whole, but because they expose the complete absence of a moral compass within Meta’s leadership.

Today, I’m exercising my right to “virtue signal” by uninstalling Threads and Instagram from my phone. Abandoning Threads isn’t much of a loss—I’ve been enjoying Bluesky more these days. Instagram, on the other hand, is harder to let go of, as it’s a way for me to stay in touch with people I care about. For now, I’ll aim to keep my usage to a minimum.

I’m fully aware that Meta couldn’t care less about me scaling back my usage of their platforms. I’m just a grain of sand on an expansive beach. But there’s power in numbers. Exhibit A: Threads, which wouldn’t have taken off if so many people hadn’t been desperate for an alternative to Twitter/X. I’m inspired by others, like the MacStories team, who have also announced their departure from these platforms.

I’m also heartened to hear that these policy decisions are being met with derision internally at Meta. I don’t know if anyone from Meta happens to read this, but if you do, I hope you’ll take a stand. If you’ve had the privilege of working at one of the most highly compensated companies in the world, you likely have the means to do what’s right. I hope you’ll find the courage to stand up to your company’s leadership.

True leadership requires holding steadfast values, even in difficult times. Values can evolve over time, but values abandoned at the first sign of external pressure or convenience were never values to begin with. When a leader discards them so easily, it immediately exposes their true nature—a fraud.