The announcement by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg that Facebook and Instagram would end their work with third-party fact-checkers and ease certain content restrictions was praised by some conservative activists, who cheered it as a ‘vindication’ for Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, who dissented from the rest of the court in late 2023 in a case involving content regulation that included a post by the former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The case centered on whether Meta was acting outside its scope when its platform, Facebook, temporarily removed a 30-minute video posted by Kennedy, which included vaccine misinformation and other false claims about COVID-19. The Supreme Court majority declined to take up the case without explanation, but Alito disagreed, writing as the sole dissenter for the court.

Alito, a George W. Bush appointee, blasted the video’s removal in a scathing dissent, saying that the platform had censored a type of political speech in its attempts to crack down on misinformation, and could therefore be seen as acting on behalf of the U.S. government and possibly causing what he described as ‘irreparable’ harm.

‘Our democratic form of government is undermined if government officials prevent a candidate for high office from communicating with voters, and such efforts are especially dangerous when the officials engaging in such conduct are answerable to a rival candidate,’ Alito said in the dissent. 

‘I would allow him to intervene to ensure that we can reach the merits of respondents’ claims and to prevent the irreparable loss of his First Amendment rights,’ Alito added.

‘Because Mr. Kennedy’s arguments on the merits are essentially the same as respondents’, allowing intervention would not significantly affect petitioners’ burden with regard to that issue,’ Alito wrote. ‘But the denial of intervention is likely to prevent Mr. Kennedy from vindicating the rights he claims until the spring of 2024 and perhaps as late as June of that year. And by that time, several months of the presidential campaign will have passed.’ 

Zuckerberg announced earlier this month that Meta would end its previous content restrictions used on Facebook and Instagram — which were put into place after the 2016 elections — acknowledging in a video posted on social media that they had ‘gone too far’ and allowed for too much political bias from outside fact-checkers.

‘We’ve reached a point where it’s just too many mistakes and too much censorship,’ Zuckerberg said in the announcement.

‘The recent elections also feel like a cultural tipping point toward once again prioritizing speech. So we are going to get back to our roots, focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies, and restoring free expression on our platforms.’

Meta will now replace that system with a ‘Community Notes’-style program, similar to the approach taken by social media platform X, he said. X is owned by Elon Musk, the co-director of the planned Department of Government Efficiency.

That news was praised by Mollie Hemingway, the editor-in-chief of The Federalist, who noted on X that the decision from Zuckerberg ‘vindicated’ Alito’s dissent. ‘Kind of crazy how Zuck was like ‘what they did had to be illegal’ but majority on Court was like ‘I mean, who can know?” Hemingway said of the Supreme Court’s decision not to take up the case.

The FBI has closed its DEI office, Fox News can confirm. 

‘In recent weeks, the FBI took steps to close the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI), effective by December 2024,’ the agency told Fox News Digital on Thursday. 

The agency didn’t specify why it had closed the office, although many Republicans have been critical of it prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion, saying that had overshadowed national security. 

Earlier this month, Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray claiming that ‘radical’ DEI practices had ‘endangered’ Americans following the New Year’s Day terrorist attack in New Orleans.

‘I am deeply concerned that—under your leadership—the Bureau has prioritized Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives over its core mission of protecting the American people,’ Balckburn wrote in the Jan. 3 letter after referencing the attack. 

The FBI page on diversity and inclusion – that was still on its website as of Thursday – says the agency is ‘committed to cultivating a diverse and inclusive workforce. In 2015, the FBI added diversity as one of the organization’s core values.

It continued: ‘We believe that differences in thought and belief, in race and religion, in orientation, and in ability contribute to more effective decision making, drive innovation, and enhance the employee experience. We know that a more diverse workforce allows us to connect with and maintain the trust of the American people. We also understand we have work to do. We stand committed, as today’s FBI, to fostering a culture of inclusivity and diversity.’ 

Former FBI special agent and Fox News contributor Nicole Parker told Fox News Digital: ‘I appreciate all forms of diversity. Make no mistake of that. What I do not appreciate is when there is a constant push for social justice weaponization at the FBI whose top priorities are to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution.’  

She added that FBI Director Christopher Wray has made it clear that threats across and against the nation are ‘at an all-time high. ‘Flashing red lights,’ as he has stated in congressional testimony. There is no time for clubs, groups, or social agendas that divert time, attention and resources away from the mission of the FBI to protect the American people.’

‘DEI is a dangerous distraction,’ she continued. ‘I have no issue in celebrating whatever you would like regarding your heritage or gender or religion. But that should be done on your own time and not with the U.S. taxpayers’ dollars while on official Bureau time.’

Parker added, ‘The FBI needs to focus on hiring the best and brightest based solely on meritocracy. Americans deserve the best. I have never been on an operation or heard of a civilian calling into the FBI and requesting an individual of a certain race or gender provide them with assistance in solving their problem or stopping a crime they’ve fallen victim to. Americans simply want to be safe.’ 

‘The FBI should be focused on being one in fighting crime, not various groups and divisions that divide,’ she said. 

Parker also noted that there are numerous other groups within the FBI aside from the DEI office, including the American Indian and Alaska Native Advisory Committee, Asian Pacific American Advisory Committee, Black Affairs Diversity Committee, Bureau Equality, Hispanic Advisory Board, Near and Middle East Advisory Committee, Persons with Disabilities Advisory Committee, Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee, and the Women’s Advisory Committee. 

She said the bureau also has numerous resource groups, including Blacks in Government, FBI African American Millennials, FBI Family, FBI Jewish Americans, FBI Latinos for Empowerment Advancement and Development, FBI Pride, Federal Asian Pacific American Counsel, Federally Employed Women, From Boots to Suits and the Toastmasters Club. 

Wray announced in December that he planned to resign with nearly three years left in his term, citing Trump’s desire for a change in leadership at the agency. 

This is President Biden’s last week in office. President-elect Trump will take office on Monday. 

The FBI’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion was created in 2012 during the Obama administration with its goal to provide ‘guidance and implement programs that promote a diverse and inclusive workplace that allows all employees to succeed and advance.’

Democrat Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii faced mockery on social media on Thursday over her opening questions to Interior Secretary nominee Doug Burgum during his confirmation hearing. 

As part of my responsibilities to ensure the fitness of nominees before any of the committees on which I sit, I ask the following two initial questions,’ Hirono said to Burgum on Thursday. ‘First is, since you became a legal adult, have you ever made unwanted requests for sexual favors or committed any verbal or physical harassment or assault of a sexual nature?’

‘No, senator, I have not,’ Burgum responded. 

Have you ever faced discipline or entered into a settlement related to this kind of conduct?’ Hirono then asked.

‘I have not,’ Burgum said. 

Hirono, who has asked similar opening questions to several other nominees in the past, including Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth and Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi, was widely panned by conservatives on social media over the line of questioning. 

‘This lady has issues.’ conservative commentator Chad Prather posted on X. 

‘No, this is not AI…,’ conservative influencer Benny Johnson posted on X.

‘What is wrong with Dems??’ American Majority president Ned Ryun posted on X. ‘They are apparently bat guano crazy sex pervs. Is this all they think about??’

‘How the F does Hirono have seats on Judiciary AND Armed Services AND Energy?????’ columnist Tiana Lowe Doescher posted on X. ‘What member of Dem leadership does she have kompromat on??’

Conservative comedian Tim Young posted on X that the ‘more Mazie Hirono asks cabinet nominees if they’ve sexually assaulted someone… the more I think she’s guilty of it herself.’

Henry Rogers, The Daily Caller’s chief national correspondent, called Hirono ‘deranged’ on X.

Hirono’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

Former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, President-elect Trump’s nominee for interior secretary, was pressed by the Senate on his environmental agenda and whether his mission aligns with that of Trump, who plans to overturn many environmental rules and regulations enacted under the Biden administration.

A confirmation hearing was held by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Thursday for Burgum, a 2024 presidential candidate who was tapped to lead the department that manages public land, wildlife and natural resources.

‘This is a guy who really fits this job,’ Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said as he introduced Burgum, who grew up in Arthur, North Dakota.

Democrats focused their questioning on whether Burgum aligns with Trump’s stance on wind farming and electric vehicles, while Republicans asked about his commitment to forest management, increasing energy production and resurrecting interest in nuclear energy.

‘When energy production is restricted in America, it doesn’t reduce demand. It just shifts production to countries like Russia and Iran, whose autocratic leaders not only don’t care at all about the environment, but they use their revenues from energy sales to fund wars against us and our allies,’ Burgum said in his opening statement.

‘President Trump’s energy dominance vision will end those wars abroad and will make life more affordable for every family in America by driving down inflation.

‘And President Trump will achieve those goals while championing clean air, clean water and protecting our beautiful lands.’

The Biden administration has enacted recent policies keeping animals on the endangered species list and blocking coal mining and liquefied natural gas exports (LNG). Republicans asked Burgum about his approach to these specific Biden-era policies, which he agreed are policies that should be reevaluated.

Burgum told lawmakers that, if confirmed, his agenda would be anchored by two issues — national security and the economy.

‘Without baseload, we’re going to lose the AI (artificial intelligence) arms race to China,’ he said.

Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, using a phrase coined by the incoming president, asked the interior nominee if he is going to ‘drill, baby, drill’ after claiming Trump wants to drill in national parks.

‘As part of my sworn duty, I’ll follow the law and follow the Constitution. And so you can count on that,’ Burgum responded. ‘And I have not heard of anything about President Trump wanting to do anything other than advancing energy production for the benefit of the American people.’

President-elect Trump recently suggested his administration could introduce policy to block all new wind energy projects, a topic raised by Democratic Sen. Angus King of Maine, who applauded Burgum for having ‘all of the above energy strategy’ during the hearing. 

Asked if he will commit to current wind projects, Burgum said, ‘I’m not familiar with every project that the interior has underway, but I’ll certainly be taking a look at all of those.’

‘President Trump’s been very clear in his statements that he’s concerned about the significant amount of tax incentives that have gone towards some forms of energy, that have helped exacerbate this imbalance that we’re seeing right now,’ Burgum said in reference to Trump raising the issue of subsidies for wind energy projects.

Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada asked if Burgum would support repealing credits for electric vehicles, which could reportedly be axed by Trump during his upcoming term. 

‘I support economics and markets,’ Burgum responded, highlighting the costs of EVs compared to liquid fuel with zero carbon. 

Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke of Montana, the former secretary of interior during Trump’s first term, told Fox News he is ‘very confident’ Burgum will be confirmed for the top administration post.

This past July, as anti-Israel crowds took to the streets of Washington, D.C,, to protest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu address to Congress, Zaid Mohammed Mahdawi, 26, climbed atop a monument at Columbus Circle in front of Union Station and allegedly spray-painted an ominous message: ‘HAMAS IS COMIN”. He punctuated the warning with the red, inverted triangle that the terrorist organization uses as a symbol to mark its targets. 

Nearby, demonstrators pulled down and burned a U.S. flag to ashes, tackled U.S. Park Police officers trying to arrest agitators and spray-painted other menacing graffiti, including ‘DEATH 2 AMRIKKKA,’ on memorials.

At 3:26 p.m., the U.S. Park Police pulled the protest permit, which had been issued to the ANSWER Coalition, a Washington-based, self-declared socialist organization. Later, the FBI charged Mahdawi and other protesters with destruction of government property.

‘The permit holder failed to answer his phone and the call went directly to voicemail,’ an FBI agent wrote in a fascinating affidavit that revealed that someone at a gym Mahdawi used sent the FBI a tip on his identity.

Nearly six months later, the ANSWER Coalition is poised to get a new permit to host another protest on Monday, according to a copy of the application I obtained from the National Park Service. The event name: ‘For Peace & Justice – Free Palestine.’ The target is obviously the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.

Past behavior indicates the protests will bring mayhem to the capital’s streets. Yet, National Park Service spokesman Michael Litterst told me that current legal precedent makes it difficult to deny permits based on prior incidents.

Critics, like leaders of the Clarity Coalition, a network of Muslims, ex-Muslims and allies who oppose extremism, say it’s long past time to deny the permits. At a minimum, the public must have its eyes wide open about who is behind these protests. 

As the protests unfold, media coverage will likely frame them as ‘organic,’ ‘grassroots’ activities. But make no mistake: These events will be part of a larger, well-funded operation. The demonstrators are aligned with adversaries to the U.S., including Russia, China, Iran, North Korea and Hamas, and are united in an unholy alliance that blends socialism with Islamism, or political Islam.

This coalition, which I call the ‘Woke Army,’ operates as a red-green alliance, the red symbolizing socialism and communism and the green representing Islam. These are the same groups that stoked the encampments of the so-called campus intifada around the country last year. Their ultimate goal is to dismantle American democracy and replace it with a socialist, anti-capitalist order. The first way to counter this threat is through transparency, vigilance and a commitment to truth.

The application lists the same ‘Person in Charge of Event,’ as it did in July: Brian Becker, the self-proclaimed Marxist founder of the ANSWER Coalition.

Protest organizers say they have at least 50 ‘endorsing’ groups, and their motives are far from grassroots. I’ve created a public database as part of my work at the Pearl Project, a nonprofit journalism initiative, and, according to my analysis, 25 of the groups are self-described socialist organizations, five are Muslim, Arab or Palestinian, and the final 20 are ‘socialist adjacent.’

The ‘red’ in this alliance includes:

ANSWER Coalition: A Marxist-Leninist group infamous for organizing protests that amplify anti-American and anti-Israel rhetoric.
Code Pink: An anti-Israel group funded by Neville Roy Singham, a Shanghai-based American billionaire tied to China’s Communist Party, according to New York Times reporting.
Party for Socialism and Liberation: Advocates for dismantling capitalism and aligning the U.S. with socialist regimes.
The People’s Forum: A socialist group that serves as a proxy for Singham’s pro-China agenda, as also documented by the New York Times.
Democratic Socialists of America: The largest socialist organization in the U.S. and a big supporter of anti-Israel campaigns.

The ‘green’ of this axis includes:

Students for Justice in Palestine: Founded by University of California at Berkeley academic Hatem Bazian, this controversial group has fomented many of the anti-Jew campus protests, banned now on many campuses.
Palestinian Feminist Collective: Committed to ‘Palestinian liberation & beyond.’
Palestinian Youth Movement: Dedicated to a ‘strategy of mobilization, agitation and confrontation.’
U.S. Palestinian Community Network: Organized days of protests in Chicago to disrupt the Democratic Party’s convention.
Muslim American Society: Created a ‘Survive Pack,’ with tips on building campus ‘Liberation Zones’ and a resource from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, whose co-founder, Nihad Awad, said he was ‘happy’ about the Oct. 7 incursions by Hamas into Israel.

In July, I went to the corner of C Street NW to report who had rented buses to ferry protesters to the first ‘HAMAS IS COMIN’’ protest. It was the Party for Socialism and Liberation. This time, if you go to the ‘We Fight Back’ website’s donation page, you’ll see who is getting the donations for the Jan. 20 protests. It’s The People’s Forum, whose logo and tax ID number appear on the donate page.

On Nov. 5, four days after Trump’s electoral victory, an anonymous person bought the website domain wefightback2025.org. Now the protest’s digital hub, it features an embedded Google Map geo-locating 80 planned ‘actions’ across the country.

It even includes a ‘J20 media kit’ with pre-designed Instagram graphics, a Canva template and printable protest posters emblazoned with slogans like ‘Stop the Genocide in Palestine’ and ‘Defeat Extreme-Right Trump’s Billionaire Agenda!’ 

The kit even provides social media captions, complete with a megaphone emoji. They have their right to protest, but the world must have eyes wide open about who is behind the megaphones.

Pam Bondi, President-elect Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Justice, was involved in a sharp clash with Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., on Wednesday as the California senator quizzed Bondi over whether she would prosecute Trump’s political opponents.

Schiff, a vocal critic of the president-elect, asked Bondi about whether she would investigate former Special Counsel Jack Smith and also former Rep. Liz Cheney.

‘I’m asking you sitting here today whether you are aware of a factual predicate to investigate Liz Cheney,’ he said.

‘Senator, no one asked me to investigate Liz Cheney, that is a hypothetical,’ she said.

She then turned the tables on Schiff, noting the crime rate in California.

‘You know what we should be worried about? The crime rate in California is through the roof. Your robberies are 87% higher than the national average,’ she said. ‘That’s what I want to focus on, senator.’

Schiff said that Bondi’s answers suggested she doesn’t have the independence to say ‘no’ to the president. He then asked her if she would tell Trump he lost the 2020 election. Bondi accused Schiff of ‘playing politics’ and of leaking former Rep. Devin Nunes’ memo.

‘What I can tell you is I will never play politics, you’re trying to engage me in a gotcha,’ she said.

Schiff shot back, asking her if she would advise against blanket pardons by President-elect Trump and suggesting she would not be able to look at every file on day one.

‘You’ll be able to review hundreds of cases on day one. … Of course you won’t,’ Schiff said.

Bondi was furious at Schiff’s comments.

‘I’m not going to mislead this body or you, you were censured by Congress, senator, for comments just like this that are so reckless,’ she said. 

Schiff was censured in 2023 for promoting claims that Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign colluded with Russia, a vote that made Schiff just the third member of the House to be censured since the turn of the century.

The incident was one of a number of sharp exchanges that the former Florida AG had with Democrat lawmakers. She was asked by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., about the weaponization of the DOJ.

‘It would not be appropriate for a prosecutor to start with a name and look for a crime?’ Whitehouse said during his line of questioning. ‘It’s a prosecutor’s job to start with a crime and look for a name. Correct?’

Bondi responded by highlighting the federal government’s investigations into Trump.

‘Senator, I think that is the whole problem with the weaponization that we have seen the last four years and what’s been happening to Donald Trump,’ Bondi said.