New York Times reporters Frenkel and Kang debut with a paragon of investigative journalism in this insiders’ account of the scandals and toxic culture at social media giant Facebook. Compiling interviews with former and current employees as well as investors, regulators, and lawmakers, the authors offer an unvarnished view of the company’s callous business practices, most notably the exploitation of users’ data, their “merciless” overthrows of competitors, and the “powerful monopoly” that resulted. They recap headline-grabbing events such as the discovery of Russian hackers’ use of the platform and the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Less familiar (and more riveting) anecdotes include a contract employee leaking a memo to the press, who was then caught by Facebook’s “rat catcher,” Sonya Ahuja, and fired, and former vice president of global communications Elliot Schrage threatening a representative from Common Sense Media who was concerned about protecting children from the potential harms of social media. …
New York Times reporters Frenkel and Kang debut with a paragon of investigative journalism in this insiders’ account of the scandals and toxic culture at social media giant Facebook. Compiling interviews with former and current employees as well as investors, regulators, and lawmakers, the authors offer an unvarnished view of the company’s callous business practices, most notably the exploitation of users’ data, their “merciless” overthrows of competitors, and the “powerful monopoly” that resulted. They recap headline-grabbing events such as the discovery of Russian hackers’ use of the platform and the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Less familiar (and more riveting) anecdotes include a contract employee leaking a memo to the press, who was then caught by Facebook’s “rat catcher,” Sonya Ahuja, and fired, and former vice president of global communications Elliot Schrage threatening a representative from Common Sense Media who was concerned about protecting children from the potential harms of social media. And though CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg refused to be interviewed, both come vividly to life, the latter a “master manager” and advertising guru, the former an operator who’s affable in public and ruthless behind the scenes. The result is a work of impeccable research and relentless reporting.
This is an excellent takedown of Facebook, going hard on how the company created its own disinformation nightmare by treating extremist hate speech as “important political content.” Outstandingly written and devastating, it also sheds light on the epically gross working relationship between Zuck and Sheryl. If you can tolerate 300+ pages about some of the worst people in the world but want more ammunition against the selective applications of “intellectual freedom,” pick it up.
A lot of the books about big tech are typically written by experts in one field or another, while this actually takes a moment to step back and provide an exhaustive view of the entirety of Facebook's history and its series of scandals. That gives you a top-down view to a tech company in which the leaders herald interaction above all else, stating that it "creates a better world" while at best, failing to understand the world beyond their bubble and at worst, cynically driving the worst interactions solely for the way in which it helps the bottom line.
The writing here is organized well, with each chapter providing a clear and well-written data point that can be independently worth another book unto itself. I'd say this is a great read for folks interested in learning a bit about the world we live in, the tools we use to facilitate …
A lot of the books about big tech are typically written by experts in one field or another, while this actually takes a moment to step back and provide an exhaustive view of the entirety of Facebook's history and its series of scandals. That gives you a top-down view to a tech company in which the leaders herald interaction above all else, stating that it "creates a better world" while at best, failing to understand the world beyond their bubble and at worst, cynically driving the worst interactions solely for the way in which it helps the bottom line.
The writing here is organized well, with each chapter providing a clear and well-written data point that can be independently worth another book unto itself. I'd say this is a great read for folks interested in learning a bit about the world we live in, the tools we use to facilitate it, and the people responsible for them.
A lot of the books about big tech are typically written by experts in one field or another, while this actually takes a moment to step back and provide an exhaustive view of the entirety of Facebook's history and its series of scandals. That gives you a top-down view to a tech company in which the leaders herald interaction above all else, stating that it "creates a better world" while at best, failing to understand the world beyond their bubble and at worst, cynically driving the worst interactions solely for the way in which it helps the bottom line.
The writing here is organized well, with each chapter providing a clear and well-written data point that can be independently worth another book unto itself. I'd say this is a great read for folks interested in learning a bit about the world we live in, the tools we use to facilitate …
A lot of the books about big tech are typically written by experts in one field or another, while this actually takes a moment to step back and provide an exhaustive view of the entirety of Facebook's history and its series of scandals. That gives you a top-down view to a tech company in which the leaders herald interaction above all else, stating that it "creates a better world" while at best, failing to understand the world beyond their bubble and at worst, cynically driving the worst interactions solely for the way in which it helps the bottom line.
The writing here is organized well, with each chapter providing a clear and well-written data point that can be independently worth another book unto itself. I'd say this is a great read for folks interested in learning a bit about the world we live in, the tools we use to facilitate it, and the people responsible for them.
