Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025
From: Wayne R. Besen
Executive Director
Truth Wins Out (TWO)
To: Joel Kaplan
Chief Global Affairs Officer
Meta Platforms, Inc.
Re: Immediate Removal of Robby Starbuck from Meta’s AI Advisory Role
Dear Mr. Kaplan:
I write to you today on behalf of Truth Wins Out (TWO) to express grave concern over Meta’s recent decision to appoint Robby Starbuck to an advisory role on artificial intelligence and to call for his immediate removal. TWO is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that works to advance liberty and democracy, protect the rights of LGBTQ people and other minorities, combat religious extremism, and fight against the spread of disinformation.
The appointment of Starbuck is deeply troubling, profoundly misguided, and poses a direct threat to Meta’s stated goals of building ethical, unbiased, and inclusive AI systems. On Aug. 22, Starbuck publicly launched a noxious attack on liberals and the LGBTQ community. What prompted his screed was anger over Cracker Barrel exercising its corporate discretion to alter its logo. In Starbuck’s warped view, Cracker Barrel had gone “woke”.
Starbuck went rogue and raged against two of Cracker Barrel’s executives for having the audacity to bring rainbow-colored rocking chairs to work at the company’s Tennessee headquarters. While berating these employees, Starbuck spewed:
“The fact that it’s located there is important to this story because what’s happened here is a microcosm of the parasitic operating procedure of left-wing activists. They don’t just wanna force their soulless, godless, hedonistic vision of the future onto blue hellscapes that their party controls.
No, it’s much more important to them that they shove it down into your towns, into your kids’ schools and into your way of life. So, sticking a pro-trans rocking chair into their headquarters in a predominantly conservative town is exactly the type of thing they revel in doing.”
These ugly words were not offhand remarks but a venomous Jeremiad—calculated, hateful, and entirely inconsistent with the ethical responsibilities of someone entrusted to reduce bias. Artificial intelligence is not a neutral tool; it reflects the values and perspectives of those who design and train it. Meta has publicly acknowledged the risks of AI systems perpetuating stereotypes, discriminating against marginalized groups, or amplifying harmful narratives. These concerns are not hypothetical—they are real, present, and urgent.
So, how does your company reconcile building AI “super intelligence,” when you’re consulting with a divisive, professional agitator who disgorged such unintelligent bile?
How can Meta, in good faith, maintain that a man who drips with such contempt for a sizable segment of your workforce and customer base—be relied upon to shape AI development in a manner that safeguards fairness and reduces harm?
Robby Starbuck’s career has been built on fomenting bias, not dismantling it. His business model thrives on outrage, polarization, and the deliberate stoking of division. To entrust him with a role designed to counteract prejudice is both laughable and reckless.
We are confident you will agree that Starbuck’s remarks are revolting and disqualifying. Truth Wins Out looks forward to hearing from you and learning about the dismissal of Starbuck.
Sincerely,
Wayne R. Besen
Executive Director, Truth Wins Out
