"Why were they there in the first place?" — Internet reacts as Mark Zuckerberg orders removal of tampons from men's bathrooms at Meta offices

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has come up with several changes for Meta amid the United States preparing for the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. Just a few days after Mark explained that they would get rid of fact-checkers from their social media platforms, he also ordered the removal of tampons from men's washrooms at the Meta offices.

According to The New York Times on January 10, 2025, Mark has decided to end Meta's diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. The article further revealed that the tampons were present for "nonbinary and transgender employees." Furthermore, as reported by the outlet, Janelle Gale, vice president of human resources, said in an internal post:

"[Meta planned to] focus on how to apply fair and consistent practices that mitigate bias for all, no matter your background."

While Mark Zuckerberg made these changes within Meta, several reactions to the same have been recorded online. Here are some popular responses on X:

"Why were they there in the first place?" a user wrote.

Another user wondered:

"Why were there ever tampons in men’s bathrooms?!"

"A bold move that sparks a lot of debate!" a user commented.

"That's a good step in the right direction. Why is he changing sides all of a sudden?" questioned another one.

Some explained that the step taken by Mark was a "bold" one. A user tweeted:

"Zuck's making some bold moves there, huh? Curious how that'll play out in the workplace vibe."

"Why? What's the reason behind all this?" asked a netizen.

"How does this lower grocery prices for American families?" questioned a user.

Employees reportedly had a set of mixed reactions to the recent changes that Mark Zuckerberg asked for.

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Meta's Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan ensured that the steps taken by Mark Zuckerberg will work

Meta's Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan also shared his take on the recent changes. According to Kaplan, the teams at Meta would now include "the most talented people." While talking to FOX News Digital on January 10 about the changes made by Mark Zuckerberg, especially regarding the end of the DEI programs, Kaplan further said:

"This means evaluating people as individuals, and sourcing people from a range of candidate pools, but never making hiring decisions based on protected characteristics like race or gender."

Kaplan continued that the company was initially set up with similar values, as he talked about the removal of fact-checkers.

"We have a new administration coming in that is far from pressuring companies to censor and [is more] a huge supporter of free expression. It gets us back to the values that Mark founded the company on," he said.

As aforementioned, Zuckerberg recently decided to remove fact-checkers from Meta for allegedly being politically biased. He also highlighted the importance of "free speech" while he was talking about the changes to be incorporated.

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As aforementioned, these changes were spoken about days before Trump's inaugural ceremony, on January 20. It is now time to see how the employees adapt and react to the new rules at Meta.