Joel Kaplan

Joel David Kaplan (born 1969) is an American political advisor, lobbyist, and attorney. In January 2025, Kaplan was announced as president of global affairs of Meta Platforms, owner of Facebook, succeeding Nick Clegg. He was previously the company's vice president of global public policy since 2014. A longtime Republican political operative, Kaplan served eight years in the George W. Bush administration, including as White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy. Within Facebook, Kaplan has been described as a strong conservative voice. He has helped place conservatives in key positions in the company, and advocated for the interests of right-wing websites Breitbart News and The Daily Caller within the company. He has successfully advocated for changes in Facebook's algorithm to promote the interests of right-wing publications and successfully prevented Facebook from closing down groups that were alleged to have circulated fake news, arguing that doing so would disproportionately target conservatives.