While Meta may be best known for its popular Facebook platform, the company has been ramping up its spending and rearranging its personnel in a push to dominate the artificial intelligence industry. At the same time, quickly consolidating the necessary resources to support AI can only be done under the right political environment — something that Meta is determined to shape according to its will.
How Is Meta Influencing American Politics?
Meta has funneled millions of dollars into lobbying efforts to influence members of Congress on issues like AI policy. In addition, the company has launched two super PACs to help elect pro-AI, pro-tech politicians running for office in California.
The company has created two new super PACs to influence AI regulation. And after years of contention, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has developed a seemingly friendly relationship with President Donald Trump, who is working to deregulate the industry — even donating $1 million to his inauguration fund. Efforts to promote pro-AI politicians may be just the tip of the iceberg, too, especially as Trump prioritizes American business growth over regulation and more openly welcomes leaders like Zuckerberg to weigh in on the direction of U.S. tech policy.
Meta Wants to Shape the U.S. Political Arena in Its Favor
Meta has invested in winning over U.S. politicians more than any other tech company. According to Issue One’s findings, the social media giant spent nearly $14 million on lobbying during just the first six months of 2025, with Alphabet coming in at a distant second with less than $8 million. It’s reached the point where Meta now has one lobbyist for every six members of Congress, ensuring its agenda remains front and center in Washington.
And if Meta can’t persuade current politicians to adopt its views, it may try to replace them with its preferred candidates through the use of super PACs — political action committees that can raise unlimited funds to support or oppose political candidates, as long as they don’t directly contribute to or work with a candidate’s campaign. So far, Meta has established two super PACs aimed at electing pro-AI, tech-friendly candidates in California, challenging the state’s recent efforts to regulate AI through State Bill 243 and State Bill 53.
Meta’s political goals extend far beyond the state level, though, as Zuckerberg works to ingratiate himself and the company with the Trump administration
Trump and American Politics Are Reshaping Meta
Zuckerberg’s improved relationship with Trump provides Meta with a direct avenue to guide American tech policy. However, staying on the president’s good side has come with consequences, including Meta’s right-wing transformation.
Mark Zuckerberg’s Evolving Relationship With Trump
Zuckerberg and Trump haven’t always been on great terms, to say the least. Despite winning the 2016 presidential election, Trump called Facebook “anti-Trump” in a post on X — a claim that Zuckerberg quickly refuted. Tensions rose after Trump’s failed re-election bid in 2020, when Meta suspended his Facebook and Instagram accounts in response to his comments on the January 6 Capitol attacks. As late as 2024, Trump directed more personal threats at Zuckerberg, promising to jail him for supposedly plotting against his re-election.
But it’s hard to say whether Zuckerberg was ever really against Trump to begin with. In 2020, Zuckerberg suggested that Facebook step back from regulating content, arguing that the platform “shouldn’t be the arbiter of truth of everything that people say online.” A few months later, he refused to remove controversial posts on police brutality shared by Trump, taking a more lenient approach with the president even in the face of heavy criticism.
This decision paints a more complicated picture in which Meta is very much connected to and influenced by the political climate at the time. With Trump back in office, it’s easier to understand how Zuckerberg could end up dining with him at Mar-a-Lago, and reveals that Meta’s rightward turn may have been months, if not years, in the making.
Meta’s Recent Right-Wing Shift
Meta announced its move toward right-wing politics with some personnel changes. At the start of January, the company promoted Republican Joel Kaplan to be its newest chief global affairs officer, replacing Nick Clegg, who has a liberal political background. Less than a week later, Meta introduced several additions to its board of directors, including UFC president and CEO Dana White, who also happens to be a friend of Trump.
Next, the company trimmed down its policies. In a video announcement, Zuckerberg explained Meta was ending its independent fact-checking program and pivoting to a Community Notes model inspired by Elon Musk’s X platform. Not surprisingly, Trump praised this choice. Meta then distributed a memo among employees detailing the rollback of its diversity, equity and inclusion programs, effectively shuttering its DEI team and shifting its focus to “accessibility and engagement.”
These moves bring Meta firmly in line with the Trump administration’s hard-right, “anti-woke” policies. That said, this may be less about caving to the president’s demands and more about seizing a golden opportunity to make Meta’s AI ambitions a reality.
How Does Meta Benefit From a Trump-Zuckerberg Bromance?
It’s no secret that Meta aims to become an AI leader, with the company forming Meta Superintelligence Labs and launching a historic hiring blitz. But superintelligence requires massive data centers to fulfill its demand for large volumes of real-time data. The process of building this extensive infrastructure becomes smoother when fewer AI regulations are involved, which is why tech companies like Meta have championed Trump’s approach to AI.
Trump has made deregulation a core component of his AI Action Plan, nearly securing a proposal in his ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ that would’ve put a 10-year pause on any state-level law attempting to regulate AI. After complaints from Zuckerberg about taxes on digital services, Trump also threatened to retaliate against the European Union’s Digital Services Act, claiming it places unfair costs on American tech companies.
Maintaining friendly relations with Trump gives Meta a powerful ally it can rely on to push back against any red tape that might hamper its AI development. In addition, Trump’s support makes it less likely that Meta will face government scrutiny for its costly data center projects; endure additional antitrust lawsuits for its business deals; or have to address digital privacy concerns when personalizing ads based on AI data.
Indeed, being on the president’s good side comes in handy — and Meta isn’t the only tech titan that’s come around to this reality.
Meta and Big Tech’s Rising Influence in U.S. Politics
Trump made it clear from day one that Big Tech would be key to his second term, saving front-row seats at his 2025 inauguration for leaders like Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. In the month since, the president has strengthened these relationships by counting on tech executives to expand America’s AI infrastructure, drive AI education initiatives among U.S. students and reimagine a more efficient federal government.
Such close ties between Silicon Valley and the Trump administration have led to accusations of the federal government being a “broligarchy” — a government run by a small circle of wealthy elites, particularly those at the helm of major tech companies. Despite these concerns, figures like Zuckerberg will likely enjoy even more political power as Trump continues to rely on their companies to take up the nationalistic cause of helping the United States outpace China in the AI race.
While this partnership between the federal government and Big Tech remains mutually beneficial for now, it’s becoming difficult to discern who’s gaining more from this relationship. Given this uncertainty surrounding the U.S. government’s independence, Zuckerberg is in prime position to alter American policies in ways that favor Meta, and remove any regulatory obstacles in the company’s path to maximizing its AI investments in the years ahead.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Meta trying to influence U.S. politics?
Meta spent $13.8 million during the first half of 2025 on lobbying members of Congress. In case this strategy fails, Meta has also launched two super PACs designed to help elect candidates in California who are pro-AI and pro-tech. For reference, super PACs are political action committees that can raise unlimited funds to support or oppose political candidates, as long as they don’t directly contribute to or work with any candidate’s campaign.
How has Meta shifted politically during Trump’s second term?
Meta has pivoted to the right to align itself with Trump’s politics. For instance, the company made Republican Joel Kaplan its new chief global affairs officer and added Dana White — a friend of Trump — to its board of directors. It also ended its fact-checking program and DEI programs to appeal to Trump’s anti-woke views.
Why does Meta support Trump’s deregulation policies?
Fewer AI regulations would result in fewer legal obstacles for Meta to avoid while ramping up its AI development. The company wouldn’t have to worry about digital privacy concerns when collecting user data; anti-trust lawsuits when it completes any business acquisitions; or government oversight as it invests in data center projects.
