unfriending facebook review of careless people a story of where i used to work by sarah wynn williams
Sarah Wynn-Williams' Careless People is a revelatory exposé of Facebook (now Meta) and its meteoric rise to global dominance, penned by someone who was once in the inner circle. As a former Director of Global Public Policy, Wynn-Williams had a front-row seat to the corporate and political machinations that shaped Facebook into one of the world's most influential tools, and in many ways, its most reckless. Within a few chapters into the book, you will know why Meta has tried to block the book's sale and bar the author from further promoting it. What Wynn-Williams offers is a darkly funny, shocking, and ultimately devastating portrait of a company that has irreversibly transformed how people interact, communicate, and perceive the world—often for the worse.
Wynn-Williams' narrative is compelling because it is as much a personal memoir as it is a damning critique of Facebook's leadership, particularly Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg. She draws a clear parallel between these figures and the careless characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, quoting the novel's infamous line, 'they smashed up things and creatures, and then retreated back into their money.' It's an apt analogy for Zuckerberg and Sandberg, who, despite holding immense power, seem unaware—or unwilling to acknowledge—the havoc their decisions have caused.
Toxic culture
The memoir opens with Wynn-Williams' idealistic vision of Facebook when she first joined in 2011. Coming from a background in diplomacy, particularly in human rights and environmental issues, she initially, naively saw the platform as a force for good, capable of social change. However, subsequently she discovers, Facebook's corporate culture is less about social good and more about cultivating a toxic environment fuelled by ambition, indifference, and a thirst for power.
As the book progresses, Wynn-Williams' disillusionment deepens. She paints Zuckerberg as a man increasingly desperate for adoration, switching from an engineering focus to a more political one. The image of Zuckerberg at his first meeting with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in 2012, 'nervous and sweaty', is a stark contrast to the self-assured, power-hungry figure he would later become. His evolving ambitions, including a failed attempt at embedding himself in global political circles and even considering a presidential run, reflect his growing desire for influence and control over the global narrative, often at the expense of ethical decision-making.
Critique of Sandberg
Wynn-Williams also delivers a piercing critique of Sandberg, who, despite her feminist rhetoric, is depicted as manipulative and indifferent to the struggles of others. Wynn-Williams is unflinching in portraying Sandberg's dual persona—one that appeals to women's empowerment through her Lean In manifesto, but which, in Wynn-Williams' eyes, is a mask for deeply entrenched power dynamics and cruelty.
Perhaps the most chilling part of Careless People is Wynn-Williams' account of Facebook's role in global events, including the 2016 U.S. presidential election and the genocide of the Rohingya people in Myanmar. She reveals how Facebook's platform was exploited for disinformation campaigns, helping to elect Donald Trump and enable the spread of hate speech that incited violence against the Rohingya.
Despite being warned about these risks, the company failed to act swiftly, leaving millions vulnerable to the damage Facebook's algorithms allowed to flourish. Wynn-Williams' efforts to raise alarms about the crisis in Myanmar are particularly poignant, as she recounts the slow and inadequate response from the company, highlighting its complete disregard for the consequences of its global reach.
Ethical flexibility
The book also details Facebook's failed attempts to ingratiate itself with authoritarian regimes, such as its ill-fated plans to enter China. These efforts, code-named 'Aldrin' after the famed astronaut Buzz Aldrin who landed the first manned spacecraft to the moon, were designed to make Facebook compliant with the Chinese Communist Party's demands for censorship and surveillance. In a particularly damning passage, Wynn-Williams describes Zuckerberg's calculated deception when testifying before Congress, denying any complicity in China's suppression of free speech. This kind of ethical flexibility, coupled with a disregard for truth, is a recurring theme throughout the book.
Yet, as much as Wynn-Williams exposes the flaws and moral failings of Facebook's leadership, she also forces a reckoning with her own complicity. There are moments in the narrative where Wynn-Williams acknowledges her own role in perpetuating the company's problems, from supporting controversial initiatives like Internet.org to her failure to fully grasp the impact of the platform's exploitation until it was too late. As a policy leader within Facebook, she was aware of the risks but did little to stop them, instead choosing to follow the company's direction until her own position became untenable.
Wynn-Williams' delayed recognition of Facebook's role in global harm and her eventual exit in 2018 speak to a broader issue within the tech industry: a detachment from the consequences of the decisions made in Silicon Valley's ivory towers. By the time Wynn-Williams left Facebook, she had become disillusioned with the company's leadership and their ability to effect meaningful change. Her disillusionment is painfully clear, and her personal reckoning is both heartbreaking and relatable.
It underscores the moral compromise many of those who work in powerful tech companies face: the pressure to conform to a corporate culture that prizes profitability over social responsibility.
A face to the damage
Despite these shortcomings, Careless People is an important and brave book. It offers a rare, candid glimpse into the internal workings of Facebook at the highest levels, and provides readers with a nuanced perspective on the dangers of unchecked corporate power. It may not offer groundbreaking revelations—many of the issues Wynn-Williams discusses have already been covered in the media—but it puts a human face to the damage Facebook has caused and continues to cause.
For readers familiar with Facebook's history and the broader tech landscape, Careless People is a sobering reminder of the perils of unchecked corporate power. For those who are new to these issues, it is an essential starting point to understand the way social media platforms can shape not only individual lives but entire nations and global movements.
Careless People: A Story of Where I Used to Work Sarah Wynn-Williams Pan Macmillan India ₹699
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