“Meta is under fire for appointing anti-LGBTQ right-wing commentator Robby Starbuck as an adviser on artificial intelligence fairness—sparking outrage from queer advocates and civil rights groups. Starbuck, a former music video director and failed congressional candidate, has long positioned himself at the front of the conservative campaign to end diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. He sued Meta earlier this year after its AI chatbot falsely linked him to the January 6th Capitol riot.
As part of a settlement, Meta appointed him to help prevent “political bias” in its AI tools. Since then, Starbuck has faced growing criticism for spreading disinformation and promoting extremist views.
Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, told The Guardian: “It is appalling that Robby Starbuck was given a hand in Meta operations in any capacity. He peddles lies and pushes extremism.”
Starbuck defended himself, calling the coverage “an attempted hit job meant to punish Meta for working with me on AI fairness.”
But LGBTQ+ advocates say his influence threatens online safety. Eric Bloem of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation said:
“Robby Starbuck pushes a dangerous anti-LGBTQ agenda, spreading disinformation and denying the very existence of transgender people.”
For now, Meta has not commented further on the controversy.
