The Guardian

Surprised about Mark Zuckerberg's secret meeting with Trump? Don't be | Siva Vaidhyanathan

The Facebook CEO views all politics as merely instrumental to the fortunes of his company
‘Zuckerberg continues to treat the Trump White House as just another potential regulator who must be charmed.’ Photograph: Erin Scott/Reuters

What are Mark Zuckerberg’s politics? Based on recent events, one might assume the young billionaire favors American conservatism, even explicit Republican positions.

On Thursday, NBC News revealed that the CEO of Facebook had a secret dinner at the White House in October with President Donald Trump. Zuckerberg was accompanied by Facebook board member and long-time mentor Peter Thiel. Thiel is notorious among Silicon Valley billionaires for explicitly endorsing Trump in 2016 and speaking at the Republican National Convention that year. Thiel, a libertarian who runs a company that enhances government surveillance efforts, has also questioned the value.

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