Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorVenture capitalist and right-wing booster Peter Thiel, after 17 years on the board of Facebook — now Meta Platforms — will step down as director of the internet giant.Thiel joined Meta’s board in April 2005, after he had invested $500,000 in the then-fledgling Facebook startup.Thiel is leaving Meta in order to “focus on influencing November’s midterm elections,” the New York Times reported, citing an anonymous source. “Mr.