> Described by its publisher as an “explosive insider account,” Wynn-Williams reveals some new details about Mark Zuckerberg’s push to bring Facebook to China a decade ago. She also alleges that Meta's current policy chief, Joel Kaplan, acted inappropriately, and reveals embarrassing details about Zuckerberg’s awkward encounters with world leaders
I'm interested in the topic but this sounds gossipy. I've been burned enough times by these insider journalism books whose only good parts become headlines within the first week and the rest is some random person's life story.
I listened to her interview on the Free Press, and to be totally honest, the way it was discussed does feel “gossipy.” [0]
One thing that rubs me the wrong way is her decision to wait to share this information.
When asked that by Weiss during the podcast, her response was effectively, “because AI is getting so powerful, and everyone should know what these companies are doing.”
Don’t get me wrong - I believe what she claims to have happened, and I sympathize with her difficult experience at the company. But what she discussed doesn’t feel like it’s very substantive beyond what could already be deduced or observed.
It’s easier to be principled when you can afford to not have to find work anymore. People who publically criticize tech billionaires tend to not have an easy time with that.
There’s no way to know, as someone who doesn’t know the writer, what her truest motivations are, but it’s probably a good bet that whatever she does she’ll never wield power and influence over the lives of so many people as Mark, who’s dedicated his life to extracting as many resources as he can for his personal empire.
Buying a physical book through bookshop.org supports a user chosen local bookshop or, if none is selected, supports a nation wide collection of bookshops. The goal being that it's similar to if you went to the bookshop to buy the book directly.
Ebooks are the same concept, but they're still sold with DRM (AFAIK), so I haven't dove into their app to test it out.
> From trips on private jets and encounters with world leaders to shocking accounts of misogyny and double standards behind the scenes, this searing memoir exposes both the personal and the political fallout when unfettered power and a rotten company culture take hold. In a gripping and often absurd narrative where a few people carelessly hold the world in their hands, this eye-opening memoir reveals what really goes on among the global elite.
Maybe just the hypocrisy of making themselves the moral moderator of Western civilization / having a COO write a femanifesto* while internally being no better than other other old boys club
>this eye-opening memoir reveals what really goes on among the global elite
I wonder how many time it should be revealed to stop being an eye-opening and a revelation.
Brief look over the article and the photos, and it seems like a usual story - somebody is happy to be a part of the viper nest at the very top until they get kicked out, and then "eye-opening revelations" come out (of course i think that Meta shouldn't be able to block it, until it is some NDA stuff)
Corporations are never truly your friends and should be treated accordingly. For some reason, we once believed that tech companies were different, but in reality, it was always just a more sophisticated facade. It’s good to see that facade being torn down—this should be obvious to everyone. You wouldn’t expect good behavior from BP Oil, so why expect it from Meta or any other tech giant? They all operate under the same logic: profit first, everything else is just a convenient disguise. Hope Streisand effects work fully for her!
> to the extent within Respondent Wynn-Williams' control, from further publishing or distributing Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism, including with respect to electronic and audio versions of the book;
The summary I read mentioned arbitration, which she probably agreed to when she signed her employment contract. Not surprisingly, the arbiter ruled against her. I'm not a lawyer and this is not legal advice, but IMHO she should ignore their ruling and the let FB sue her, where she would get a fair hearing and probably win.
That explains why after Zuck started calling for return of masculinity to the workplace, the former accused exec immediately sided with him. It's all tit for tat.
The full interview is a bit more nuanced, he talked about how they need to keep rising up women in leadership and how they have been very important to FBs success which he wants to keep promoting but he had some concerns they got caught up and went a bit too far in some ways. The context was semi personal as he was being asked about his entry into MMA and how it has shaped his personal life.
Also from that JRE podcast with the masculinity and workplace conversation, he's working the bow and arrow chit chat from that long form interview in a recent podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQZjrVEOpOk
It's a pretty common narrative for CEOs to get into fitness later in life, especially running. I'd imagine it's pretty hard to be successful at a demanding job after 40+ if you're not in decent physical shape. Easier to go hard in your 20s.
""This ruling affirms that Sarah Wynn Williams’ false and defamatory book should never have been published,” Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said in a statement.""
Whistleblowing is often a traumatic experience for whistleblowers and it's often a last-ditch resort done out of desperation after a long struggle with their conscience and or after they've tried to right wrongs and have failed.
To make matters worse it's almost inevitable those who are the subject of the whistleblowing (employers, institutions/entities or persons) will attempt to make life very difficult for the whilstleblower by discrediting both the person and everything he or she says. Add to all that the fact that the target of the whistleblowing is inevitably the more powerful of the parties.
Whistleblowing isn't for the fainthearted. For the most part, whistleblowers aren't aware of all the problems they'll encounter let alone their full extent, thus they'll often be stressed and emotionally traumatized by events, some of which are quite unexpected.
First, is that employees with whom they're friendly and who also know the issues will often turn against them and side with employers with the result that few will publicly support the whistleblower's claims. This is often unexpected and comes as quite a shock. Effectively, whistleblowers are usually on their own. Second, they'll likely have considerable difficulty in seeking further employment. Third, whistleblowing legislation in many places is grossely inadequate which leaves whistleblowers exposed, for them the law offers little or no protection. There's more but that'll do for now.
That said, not all whistleblowers are lily-white and some seek vengeance for various reasons; there may be a modicum of truth in what they say but with these people sorting fact from fiction is often difficult. Also, whistleblowers with a genuine grievance do themselves and their cause harm by exaggerating the facts for emphasis. There's also another class of whistleblower who exasperates just about everybody, they're the people who have a genuine complaint but which turns out to be trivial or inconsequential.
I'm of the opinion they're one of the reasons why whistleblowing legislation is lacking. As it is, it's often hard to know where to draw the line. That which constitutes an issue of enough importance to warrant whistleblowing and to not only draw public attention but also bring on an investigation is often not clearcut and these 'nuisances' muddy the waters.
Moreover, that whistleblowing is often viewed negatively as tittle-tattle even by those who welcome the whistleblower's revelations is another factor whistleblowers have to contend with. Both the distaste and ambivalence that a large percentage of the US public showed towards Snowden is evidence of that.
Eventually, truth will out and we will learn whether Sarah Wynn-Williams’ claims are false and defamatory or are factual—either in full or in part. If her claims are genuine, well motivated and factual she'll nevertheless be in for a pretty rotten time.
Unfortunately, that's the usual lot for most whistleblowers, very few benefit from having been one and many end up regretting having so acted.
> Described by its publisher as an “explosive insider account,” Wynn-Williams reveals some new details about Mark Zuckerberg’s push to bring Facebook to China a decade ago. She also alleges that Meta's current policy chief, Joel Kaplan, acted inappropriately, and reveals embarrassing details about Zuckerberg’s awkward encounters with world leaders
I'm interested in the topic but this sounds gossipy. I've been burned enough times by these insider journalism books whose only good parts become headlines within the first week and the rest is some random person's life story.
I listened to her interview on the Free Press, and to be totally honest, the way it was discussed does feel “gossipy.” [0]
One thing that rubs me the wrong way is her decision to wait to share this information.
When asked that by Weiss during the podcast, her response was effectively, “because AI is getting so powerful, and everyone should know what these companies are doing.”
Don’t get me wrong - I believe what she claims to have happened, and I sympathize with her difficult experience at the company. But what she discussed doesn’t feel like it’s very substantive beyond what could already be deduced or observed.
[0] https://www.thefp.com/p/meet-sarah-wynn-williams-facebooks
It’s easier to be principled when you can afford to not have to find work anymore. People who publically criticize tech billionaires tend to not have an easy time with that.
There’s no way to know, as someone who doesn’t know the writer, what her truest motivations are, but it’s probably a good bet that whatever she does she’ll never wield power and influence over the lives of so many people as Mark, who’s dedicated his life to extracting as many resources as he can for his personal empire.
I wasn't planning on buying the book but ...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1250391237?psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DE...
Also here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/careless-people-a-cautionary-ta...
thanks, placed an order through bookshop
Hadn’t heard of it until this article about them wanting to block promotion. Instant buy
Streisand Effect in full force.
I’m buying the book, but definitely not from AMZN.
Found it on back order at a local shop and ordered there.
Bookshop.org is a pretty good alternative to AMZN.
For anyone else looking at it: US and UK only
Others have mentioned bookshop. Why do you prefer it?
Buying a physical book through bookshop.org supports a user chosen local bookshop or, if none is selected, supports a nation wide collection of bookshops. The goal being that it's similar to if you went to the bookshop to buy the book directly.
Ebooks are the same concept, but they're still sold with DRM (AFAIK), so I haven't dove into their app to test it out.
Tracking-free link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1250391237
Yup, I have to listen to the audio book now.
> From trips on private jets and encounters with world leaders to shocking accounts of misogyny and double standards behind the scenes, this searing memoir exposes both the personal and the political fallout when unfettered power and a rotten company culture take hold. In a gripping and often absurd narrative where a few people carelessly hold the world in their hands, this eye-opening memoir reveals what really goes on among the global elite.
Hell of a pitch. I'll buy.
Why is misogyny such a cenrral thing? They cooperate with dictators and kill people , yet the sales atrocity is internal discrimination ?
Maybe just the hypocrisy of making themselves the moral moderator of Western civilization / having a COO write a femanifesto* while internally being no better than other other old boys club
*lean in
>this eye-opening memoir reveals what really goes on among the global elite
I wonder how many time it should be revealed to stop being an eye-opening and a revelation.
Brief look over the article and the photos, and it seems like a usual story - somebody is happy to be a part of the viper nest at the very top until they get kicked out, and then "eye-opening revelations" come out (of course i think that Meta shouldn't be able to block it, until it is some NDA stuff)
Corporations are never truly your friends and should be treated accordingly. For some reason, we once believed that tech companies were different, but in reality, it was always just a more sophisticated facade. It’s good to see that facade being torn down—this should be obvious to everyone. You wouldn’t expect good behavior from BP Oil, so why expect it from Meta or any other tech giant? They all operate under the same logic: profit first, everything else is just a convenient disguise. Hope Streisand effects work fully for her!
Tech companies were different and still are.
The problem is that for some reason, advertising companies such as Meta and Google are considered tech companies by some.
You wouldn’t call red bull an extreme sports company, just because they fund extreme sport events?
I bet Rocket Lab is a great company to work at for a nerd.
Not just promoting but:
> to the extent within Respondent Wynn-Williams' control, from further publishing or distributing Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism, including with respect to electronic and audio versions of the book;
https://about.fb.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Arbitration-...
Book review at the NYT: https://archive.is/vN0Jp#selection-1333.0-1333.13
FWIW, it is on libgen.
This review is TL;DR of the book. Thanks.
The News Agents podcast just did an interview with Wynn-Williams
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/special-episode-inside...
The summary I read mentioned arbitration, which she probably agreed to when she signed her employment contract. Not surprisingly, the arbiter ruled against her. I'm not a lawyer and this is not legal advice, but IMHO she should ignore their ruling and the let FB sue her, where she would get a fair hearing and probably win.
That explains why after Zuck started calling for return of masculinity to the workplace, the former accused exec immediately sided with him. It's all tit for tat.
The full interview is a bit more nuanced, he talked about how they need to keep rising up women in leadership and how they have been very important to FBs success which he wants to keep promoting but he had some concerns they got caught up and went a bit too far in some ways. The context was semi personal as he was being asked about his entry into MMA and how it has shaped his personal life.
The image makeover is unprecedented for a CEO.
Also from that JRE podcast with the masculinity and workplace conversation, he's working the bow and arrow chit chat from that long form interview in a recent podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQZjrVEOpOk
It's a pretty common narrative for CEOs to get into fitness later in life, especially running. I'd imagine it's pretty hard to be successful at a demanding job after 40+ if you're not in decent physical shape. Easier to go hard in your 20s.
He's been running for at least a decade.
Bezos?
I saw about the book earlier, didn't care about reading it. Then I saw about the arbitration on the news and immediately ordered a copy.
Meta is starting to have a whistleblower problem:
- Sarah Wynn-Williams (2025)
- Arturo Bejar (2023)
- Frances Haugen (2021)
- Sophie Zhang (2020)
- Chris Hughes, Co-Founder (2019)
- Roger McNamee, Investor (2019)
- Christopher Wylie (2018)
- Alex Stamos, ex-CSO (2018)
- Brian Acton, Co-Founder WhatsApp (2017)
- Sean Parker, ex-President (2017)
- Chamath Palihapitiya (2017)
- Justin Rosenstein (2017)
Ex-Meta executive: ‘People deserve to know what this company is really like’
https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/11/tech/meta-whistleblower-book-...
Meta’s Response to Explosive Tell-All Is Ripped From a Familiar PR Playbook
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/metas-response-explosi...
Don't forget the very first whistleblower:
- Mark Zuckerberg (2004)
"People just submitted it. I don't know why. They 'trust me'. Dumb fucks"
Brian Acton ensures I'll never use Whatsapp. Clear antitrust case
“…rush it to shelves after waiting for eight years.”
Jumbo shrimp.
""This ruling affirms that Sarah Wynn Williams’ false and defamatory book should never have been published,” Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said in a statement.""
Whistleblowing is often a traumatic experience for whistleblowers and it's often a last-ditch resort done out of desperation after a long struggle with their conscience and or after they've tried to right wrongs and have failed.
To make matters worse it's almost inevitable those who are the subject of the whistleblowing (employers, institutions/entities or persons) will attempt to make life very difficult for the whilstleblower by discrediting both the person and everything he or she says. Add to all that the fact that the target of the whistleblowing is inevitably the more powerful of the parties.
Whistleblowing isn't for the fainthearted. For the most part, whistleblowers aren't aware of all the problems they'll encounter let alone their full extent, thus they'll often be stressed and emotionally traumatized by events, some of which are quite unexpected.
First, is that employees with whom they're friendly and who also know the issues will often turn against them and side with employers with the result that few will publicly support the whistleblower's claims. This is often unexpected and comes as quite a shock. Effectively, whistleblowers are usually on their own. Second, they'll likely have considerable difficulty in seeking further employment. Third, whistleblowing legislation in many places is grossely inadequate which leaves whistleblowers exposed, for them the law offers little or no protection. There's more but that'll do for now.
That said, not all whistleblowers are lily-white and some seek vengeance for various reasons; there may be a modicum of truth in what they say but with these people sorting fact from fiction is often difficult. Also, whistleblowers with a genuine grievance do themselves and their cause harm by exaggerating the facts for emphasis. There's also another class of whistleblower who exasperates just about everybody, they're the people who have a genuine complaint but which turns out to be trivial or inconsequential.
I'm of the opinion they're one of the reasons why whistleblowing legislation is lacking. As it is, it's often hard to know where to draw the line. That which constitutes an issue of enough importance to warrant whistleblowing and to not only draw public attention but also bring on an investigation is often not clearcut and these 'nuisances' muddy the waters.
Moreover, that whistleblowing is often viewed negatively as tittle-tattle even by those who welcome the whistleblower's revelations is another factor whistleblowers have to contend with. Both the distaste and ambivalence that a large percentage of the US public showed towards Snowden is evidence of that.
Eventually, truth will out and we will learn whether Sarah Wynn-Williams’ claims are false and defamatory or are factual—either in full or in part. If her claims are genuine, well motivated and factual she'll nevertheless be in for a pretty rotten time.
Unfortunately, that's the usual lot for most whistleblowers, very few benefit from having been one and many end up regretting having so acted.
Queued it at my local library and already there is a huge queue. Hopefully will be able to read it this year
> Numerous former employees have publicly disputed Wynn-Williams’ account of events that transpired while she worked at Facebook.
As usual, the most important information is buried deep in the article to ensure the outrage bait title brings in the clicks.
Not really. That doesn't disprove anything. "Company defends itself" is not the real story
Does "former employees" mean that they are not employees now?
if meta is trying to stop it then it must be true! Data be damned.
I have some audible credits to spend. One spent.
Alternative title:
Meta promotes new book about Barbra Streisand's Beach House
Sarah Wynn-Williams is about to become a NYT best seller.
And you can help: https://read.macmillan.com/fib/careless-people/
[dead]
freeze peach amirite?