An Ugly Truth CD: Inside Facebook's Battle for Domination
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- Create Date：2021-09-10 06:51:38
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- Author：Sheera Frenkel
- ISBN：0063003287
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Summary
Award-winning New York Times reporters Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia Kang unveil the tech story of our times in a riveting， behind-the-scenes expos� that offers the definitive account of Facebook's fall from grace。
Once one of Silicon Valley's greatest success stories， Facebook has been under constant fire for the past five years， roiled by controversies and crises。 It turns out that while the tech giant was connecting the world， they were also mishandling users' data， spreading fake news， and amplifying dangerous， polarizing hate speech。
The company， many said， had simply lost its way。 But the truth is far more complex。 Leadership decisions enabled， and then attempted to deflect attention from， the crises。 Time after time， Facebook's engineers were instructed to create tools that encouraged people to spend as much time on the platform as possible， even as those same tools boosted inflammatory rhetoric， conspiracy theories， and partisan filter bubbles。 And while consumers and lawmakers focused their outrage on privacy breaches and misinformation， Facebook solidified its role as the world's most voracious data-mining machine， posting record profits， and shoring up its dominance via aggressive lobbying efforts。
Drawing on their unrivaled sources， Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia Kang take readers inside the complex court politics， alliances and rivalries within the company to shine a light on the fatal cracks in the architecture of the tech behemoth。 Their explosive， exclusive reporting led them to a shocking conclusion: The missteps of the last five years were not an anomaly but an inevitability--this is how Facebook was built to perform。 In a period of great upheaval， growth has remained the one constant under the leadership of Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg。 Both have been held up as archetypes of uniquely 21st century executives--he the tech "boy genius" turned billionaire， she the ultimate woman in business， an inspiration to millions through her books and speeches。 But sealed off in tight circles of advisers and hobbled by their own ambition and hubris， each has stood by as their technology is coopted by hate-mongers， criminals and corrupt political regimes across the globe， with devastating consequences。 In An Ugly Truth， they are at last held accountable。
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook。
Once one of Silicon Valley's greatest success stories， Facebook has been under constant fire for the past five years， roiled by controversies and crises。 It turns out that while the tech giant was connecting the world， they were also mishandling users' data， spreading fake news， and amplifying dangerous， polarizing hate speech。
The company， many said， had simply lost its way。 But the truth is far more complex。 Leadership decisions enabled， and then attempted to deflect attention from， the crises。 Time after time， Facebook's engineers were instructed to create tools that encouraged people to spend as much time on the platform as possible， even as those same tools boosted inflammatory rhetoric， conspiracy theories， and partisan filter bubbles。 And while consumers and lawmakers focused their outrage on privacy breaches and misinformation， Facebook solidified its role as the world's most voracious data-mining machine， posting record profits， and shoring up its dominance via aggressive lobbying efforts。
Drawing on their unrivaled sources， Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia Kang take readers inside the complex court politics， alliances and rivalries within the company to shine a light on the fatal cracks in the architecture of the tech behemoth。 Their explosive， exclusive reporting led them to a shocking conclusion: The missteps of the last five years were not an anomaly but an inevitability--this is how Facebook was built to perform。 In a period of great upheaval， growth has remained the one constant under the leadership of Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg。 Both have been held up as archetypes of uniquely 21st century executives--he the tech "boy genius" turned billionaire， she the ultimate woman in business， an inspiration to millions through her books and speeches。 But sealed off in tight circles of advisers and hobbled by their own ambition and hubris， each has stood by as their technology is coopted by hate-mongers， criminals and corrupt political regimes across the globe， with devastating consequences。 In An Ugly Truth， they are at last held accountable。
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook。
Reviews
Loralee
，
If you follow tech news， this book contains nothing new。 The author's did a nice job of writing a five year timeline of history at Facebook but with very little insight into Zuckerberg or Sandberg。 If you follow tech news， this book contains nothing new。 The author's did a nice job of writing a five year timeline of history at Facebook but with very little insight into Zuckerberg or Sandberg。 。。。more
Armando Mendonça
，
i used fb for a few years， since the beginning until i realized what is the real intentions of that big brother， which grew with many other social nets; they just wanted that we tell them all about us and about our families and friends -- they live and grow with all that info to manipulate them and the information: well from me it's over since a few years ago， i really don't want to know what's happen here and there and trying to be subjected to attempts of brain washing。this book is a good work i used fb for a few years， since the beginning until i realized what is the real intentions of that big brother， which grew with many other social nets; they just wanted that we tell them all about us and about our families and friends -- they live and grow with all that info to manipulate them and the information: well from me it's over since a few years ago， i really don't want to know what's happen here and there and trying to be subjected to attempts of brain washing。this book is a good work to recollect all the information they could get。 。。。more
NG Yabili
，
I knew Facebook has never placed much importance on user safety but i had NO IDEA it was this bad！ All the lying， misinterpretation of the law to accommodate the company's agenda， man。。。。 these people are shady as hell！ I knew Facebook has never placed much importance on user safety but i had NO IDEA it was this bad！ All the lying， misinterpretation of the law to accommodate the company's agenda， man。。。。 these people are shady as hell！ 。。。more
David
，
Without attempting to go into the particulars， this is a pretty devastating takedown of Facebook and its practices， focused on the years since 2015 but including context from previous years when it seemed necessary or illuminating。 The unofficial motto of "company before country" seems especially disconcerting in these times of partisan division and misinformation campaigns。 If you're aware of Facebook （and it's hard to imagine anyone in America unaware of it）， you will find interesting and， pro Without attempting to go into the particulars， this is a pretty devastating takedown of Facebook and its practices， focused on the years since 2015 but including context from previous years when it seemed necessary or illuminating。 The unofficial motto of "company before country" seems especially disconcerting in these times of partisan division and misinformation campaigns。 If you're aware of Facebook （and it's hard to imagine anyone in America unaware of it）， you will find interesting and， probably， disturbing information and stories here， about how little consideration seems to have been given to the good of the country while focusing on how to generate the most revenue possible， all the while claiming the real goal was to benefit humanity。 I'm suddenly reminded of the old Twilight episode "To Serve Man" for some reason。I must admit it was hard to keep reading in some parts of this book， when the stories of cynicism would get me down。 I think that's a reflection of the power and import of this book， but it keeps me from giving five stars。 It's not necessarily a book you will be drawn to finish quickly， but in my case I was drawn to finish it to see if there were signs of things improving。 In the end， it seems the answer is still cloudy， but it doesn't seem very promising。 。。。more
Junye Huang
，
It’s clear from this book that most of the problems in Facebook is due to Mark Zuckerberg and his limited understanding in humanity and society， over confidence and reliance in technology and most importantly the lack of empathy and responsibility。 On the other hand， we cannot rely on the good wills of the people in a private company to do goods for the society。 We need good regulations in place to restrict their bad behaviors。 However， as it’s mentioned in the book， the legislation process is c It’s clear from this book that most of the problems in Facebook is due to Mark Zuckerberg and his limited understanding in humanity and society， over confidence and reliance in technology and most importantly the lack of empathy and responsibility。 On the other hand， we cannot rely on the good wills of the people in a private company to do goods for the society。 We need good regulations in place to restrict their bad behaviors。 However， as it’s mentioned in the book， the legislation process is clearly can’t keep up with the pace of technological advancement。 。。。more
Paul Savage，
，
You're offered an intriguing and sometimes terrifying inside look into the decisions the company has had to grapple with as times have changed and their influence has grown larger。 With reports and details corroborated by multiple sources， including interviews conducted by the author， you get the full picture into the scandals and decisions made by Facebook over several years。 Highly recommend！ You're offered an intriguing and sometimes terrifying inside look into the decisions the company has had to grapple with as times have changed and their influence has grown larger。 With reports and details corroborated by multiple sources， including interviews conducted by the author， you get the full picture into the scandals and decisions made by Facebook over several years。 Highly recommend！ 。。。more
Rachel
，
It was so interesting watching all these different people wring their hands in faux or sincere worry while they failed to realize it was all generating amazing profit and that’s why nothing would change。 I especially enjoyed the CIA official who had to leave。 This is a really troubling book with a simple message and I do think it’s really important to read！
Travis Rowe
，
More to say about this later 。。。 but first pass reaction: not only an insider view of FB's rise in the social media space， but also a reminder of just how many scandals FB has been involved in over the last 10-15 years as， the company outgrew its initial 'mission' and struggled to understand how easily bad actors could manipulate their system。 More to say about this later 。。。 but first pass reaction: not only an insider view of FB's rise in the social media space， but also a reminder of just how many scandals FB has been involved in over the last 10-15 years as， the company outgrew its initial 'mission' and struggled to understand how easily bad actors could manipulate their system。 。。。more
Davina
，
For me， this book was not full of new revelations about facebook's practices but it was a fascinating look at how their actions （or inactions） shaped the political and cultural narrative of the last ten years。 For me， this book was not full of new revelations about facebook's practices but it was a fascinating look at how their actions （or inactions） shaped the political and cultural narrative of the last ten years。 。。。more
Igor Pejic
，
Riveting account of facebook’s last 5 years。 It’s hard to find a better testament of today’s broken data security model than this book。
Kirill
，
Garbage。
Lhay
，
Interesting and a solid recap of the past five years of Facebook and what seems to have been going on。I haven't followed the news that closely but I feel the book gave a solid summary that I feel like I know something now。 The book raises questions about freedom of speech， misinformation and the tech companies' responsibilities as well as shows how powerful a platform like FB truly can be。 The audiobook narrator （Holter Graham） had a suitable voice for the book。 Interesting and a solid recap of the past five years of Facebook and what seems to have been going on。I haven't followed the news that closely but I feel the book gave a solid summary that I feel like I know something now。 The book raises questions about freedom of speech， misinformation and the tech companies' responsibilities as well as shows how powerful a platform like FB truly can be。 The audiobook narrator （Holter Graham） had a suitable voice for the book。 。。。more
Jamie
，
Nothing entirely new， but an altogether damning framework for the ineptitudes of Zuckernerd & Lean Out。
Rick Wilson
，
A negativity oriented reporting job on FB from the mid 2010’s to now。 A surprisingly condemning view of Sheryl Sandberg and her enabling role in the recent fiascos FB has had。 Nothing particularly new on a conceptual level。 FB incentivizes metrics at odds with the well being of its users。 Time spent on the platform is the almighty North Star and that time can involve anything， from conspiracy theories to organizing militias。 Facebook doesn’t care unless it results in negative PR。The book itself A negativity oriented reporting job on FB from the mid 2010’s to now。 A surprisingly condemning view of Sheryl Sandberg and her enabling role in the recent fiascos FB has had。 Nothing particularly new on a conceptual level。 FB incentivizes metrics at odds with the well being of its users。 Time spent on the platform is the almighty North Star and that time can involve anything， from conspiracy theories to organizing militias。 Facebook doesn’t care unless it results in negative PR。The book itself is well written and well organized。 There is an impressive level of access。 As my friend Ross on here has said “it’s like trying to write about WW2 in 1944。” There’s still so much to be written。 As it stands。 Interesting negative read。 I’m not sure I’m walking away from this one significantly better informed beyond the increased conviction that FB is a serial “we’re sorry， we won’t do it again” violator。 。。。more
Maxine
，
A must read。
Paul Kerr
，
Good succinct dissection of Facebook’s security issues of recent years by a couple of authors who are not likely to be on Zuckerberg’s Christmas card list。 Some nice political anecdotes and shocking business tactics affirm my decision not to have a Facebook account。
Nick Richtsmeier
，
Were it not for my profession's requirement to stay aware of the comings and goings of business and and their advertisements on "Blue" the insiders name for the Facebook app， I would have run for the hills long ago。But for all my disdain for Zuckerberg， his pompous self-delusion， and the destructive trends that have been only accelerated （or made possible） by Blue， nothing perpared me for this inside look at the machinations of one of humanity's most destructive creations。 From its willful parti Were it not for my profession's requirement to stay aware of the comings and goings of business and and their advertisements on "Blue" the insiders name for the Facebook app， I would have run for the hills long ago。But for all my disdain for Zuckerberg， his pompous self-delusion， and the destructive trends that have been only accelerated （or made possible） by Blue， nothing perpared me for this inside look at the machinations of one of humanity's most destructive creations。 From its willful participation in the fraying of democracy， to its willy-nilly approach to security， to its consistent efforts to protect ungodly profit margins instead of human beings， Zuckerberg and Sandberg are revealed to be the people we all feared they probably were。Deluded by their own toxic positivity and need to be seen for their intentions rather than their actions， the Facebook leaders are revealed in this deep study of Facebook headquarters from 2016-2020。 The quality of the journalism， the depth of the interviews sing， weaving a comic-tragic tale of how web 2。0 was mutilated by Facebook to become an engine that monetizes privacy， accelerates rage， and destroys the exact discourse it claims to exist to protect。There will be books written in 100 years about the main actors that unraveled modern society。 When the inner circle of culprits is revealed， Zuckerberg and Sandberg will be sitting among the pantheon。As they say， all the devils are here。 。。。more
Robert
，
This seems to be a well researched look into the inner workings of FB and why it fails so badly at being humane。 What exactly are the goals of an individual or a company that already has revenues and profits of billions of dollars？ Continued growth？ For what？ Billy Gates came late to the philanthropy world。 Sandburg and Zuck are not even conversant with it。 I'm not currently organizing any government insurrections， so I'm not too worried about the personal data collection。 I understand the FB go This seems to be a well researched look into the inner workings of FB and why it fails so badly at being humane。 What exactly are the goals of an individual or a company that already has revenues and profits of billions of dollars？ Continued growth？ For what？ Billy Gates came late to the philanthropy world。 Sandburg and Zuck are not even conversant with it。 I'm not currently organizing any government insurrections， so I'm not too worried about the personal data collection。 I understand the FB goal of sending me info about things that will probably interest me， while not sending me fascist， racist， insurrectionist shit from scared old white men。 FB's lack of insight into how their manipulation of page posts， it the most disturbing aspect of the book。 FB does not need to be an arbiter of the First Amendment。 They are a private company。 If they are going to facilitate a particular political viewpoint， they should be honest about it。 Users who do not share those viewpoints can/should move to another platform。 FB， despite all their high powered programmers， has failed to produce programs that detect and block manipulated video。 When they finally detect those videos， they choose to do nothing about them。 Losing a few funny memes would be a small loss， compared to the damage we know those videos have done。Time to break up FB。 。。。more
Joanna
，
It's hard to write something new about a topic that has dominated the media to this extent， but Frenkel Shera and Cecilia Kang must have access to some pretty good sources。 The events are familiar from news reports， but they have some interesting insights into the inner machinations of the Facebook juggernaut。 This is compelling and really well put together， although occasionally a little lacking in coherence on the paragraph level。 I rarely wish a writer used more transition words， but I did he It's hard to write something new about a topic that has dominated the media to this extent， but Frenkel Shera and Cecilia Kang must have access to some pretty good sources。 The events are familiar from news reports， but they have some interesting insights into the inner machinations of the Facebook juggernaut。 This is compelling and really well put together， although occasionally a little lacking in coherence on the paragraph level。 I rarely wish a writer used more transition words， but I did here。 。。。more
Fabrizio Stucchi
，
Facebook in particular and Social Media in general are a cancer to our society。
Claire Lee
，
The authors aired out all the dirty laundry and laid out the facts thoroughly， but I would’ve liked more editorial voice to come through and shape the narrative。 It read like an amalgamation of events and a timeline， rather than a story。
Jill Reads
，
This is well-written and very entertaining。 I knew Zuck was a bad dude， but who knew Sheryl Sandberg was so unlikable？ This book really makes me question my addiction to social media。 And just how much information I share online。 UGH。Is it too late？
Frank D
，
I expected much more from the book than I got。 The early parts of the book were fascinating comprised of Facebook's early development and both Zuckerberg's and Sandburg's college years and how they eventually came together。 From that point forward， there are tidbits of information provided to the writers by insiders， little of which is surprising and none of which was particularly noteworthy if you read the news。 At this point， who is unaware that Facebook uses algorithms to track users' online I expected much more from the book than I got。 The early parts of the book were fascinating comprised of Facebook's early development and both Zuckerberg's and Sandburg's college years and how they eventually came together。 From that point forward， there are tidbits of information provided to the writers by insiders， little of which is surprising and none of which was particularly noteworthy if you read the news。 At this point， who is unaware that Facebook uses algorithms to track users' online behavior to match them up with advertisers？ Who has not already heard ad nauseum the Russian hacker story and how it may have affected voters in the 2016 election？ The book is an easy read so pick it up if you have a specific interest but do not expect to learn much new。 。。。more
Ginny Erisman
，
Much about the moral dilemma between complete freedom of speech vs。 whether to restrict speech if it is untrue。 Should social platforms accept advertising that contains untruths， etc。？ I also understood the book to say that Facebook can track other websites you visit， even if you don't visit them through Facebook， so there is also the moral dilemma around protecting privacy。 Important book; not a particularly easy read。 Much about the moral dilemma between complete freedom of speech vs。 whether to restrict speech if it is untrue。 Should social platforms accept advertising that contains untruths， etc。？ I also understood the book to say that Facebook can track other websites you visit， even if you don't visit them through Facebook， so there is also the moral dilemma around protecting privacy。 Important book; not a particularly easy read。 。。。more
Micah
，
This book gives a solid overview of Facebook's rise and troubled path。 But I think it focuses far too much on the last 4-5 years of controversy over its handling of political speech， missing what may in the end be the bigger story: how it became such a dominant business through monopolistic practices that it adopted as the rise of mobile platforms challenged its core product。 For my full take， go here: https://theconnector。substack。com/p/t。。。 This book gives a solid overview of Facebook's rise and troubled path。 But I think it focuses far too much on the last 4-5 years of controversy over its handling of political speech， missing what may in the end be the bigger story: how it became such a dominant business through monopolistic practices that it adopted as the rise of mobile platforms challenged its core product。 For my full take， go here: https://theconnector。substack。com/p/t。。。 。。。more
Matt Stevens
，
Audiobook。I was struck while reading this that facebook's leaders aren't really evil。 Pretty altruistic and generally have values worth defending。 They just have no idea and refused to believe that people would use their creation wrongly。 And when they did， they pretended they weren't abusing their platform。 They then chose "engagement" over better society。 Because they thought engagement was creating a better society。 I guess I hate Zuckerberg and Sandberg less after reading this。 But only beca Audiobook。I was struck while reading this that facebook's leaders aren't really evil。 Pretty altruistic and generally have values worth defending。 They just have no idea and refused to believe that people would use their creation wrongly。 And when they did， they pretended they weren't abusing their platform。 They then chose "engagement" over better society。 Because they thought engagement was creating a better society。 I guess I hate Zuckerberg and Sandberg less after reading this。 But only because I think less of them rather than they are evil。 。。。more
Moira Burke
，
A scathing look at some of the company’s biggest failures。 I agree with the authors。 But the tone undermined the reliability of the reporting。
Kurt Pankau
，
A solidly-reported exposé on Facebook's response--or rather it's lack of a response--to the rise of populism and widespread disinformation campaigning that took place on its platform from the lead up to the 2016 election through the early phases of the COVID pandemic。 The book depicts a company struggling with ethical issues， but hamstrung by a disinterested and overpowered CEO with a very un-nuanced Libertarian bent。 Over the course of the book's coverage， we see Zuckerberg slowly recognizing t A solidly-reported exposé on Facebook's response--or rather it's lack of a response--to the rise of populism and widespread disinformation campaigning that took place on its platform from the lead up to the 2016 election through the early phases of the COVID pandemic。 The book depicts a company struggling with ethical issues， but hamstrung by a disinterested and overpowered CEO with a very un-nuanced Libertarian bent。 Over the course of the book's coverage， we see Zuckerberg slowly recognizing the implications of his views， that even though he doesn't want his website to be an arbiter of truth， if he doesn't， it will be hijacked by malicious actors spreading lies。 The most damning chapter is the one describing how a lack of content moderation contributed to genocide in Myanmar。 More amusing passages include context for some of his public gaffes， such as an interview defending free speech in which Zuckerberg， who is himself Jewish， suggested that Holocaust deniers should not be de-platformed， even after many in his inner circle had told him that bringing up that specific example would blow up in his face。 Which it did。Nothing in here is truly revelatory， and I would have liked a little more of a peek inside the now widely-reported hellholes that were Facebook's subcontracted-out content moderation offices。 That aside， it's very good and worth a look。 。。。more
Joe
，
A Valuable ChronicleThis is a valuable history of Zuckerberg and Sandberg through a volatile time in American politics and in the nascent social media era。 The hundreds of interviews with former Facebook employees that went into this book reveal two aloof executives out of step with the concerns of their own workers and those of the public。 Zuckerberg， ever fixated on increasing engagement and popularity on his site and vanquishing all rivals。 Sandberg， arrogant and constantly circumventing poli A Valuable ChronicleThis is a valuable history of Zuckerberg and Sandberg through a volatile time in American politics and in the nascent social media era。 The hundreds of interviews with former Facebook employees that went into this book reveal two aloof executives out of step with the concerns of their own workers and those of the public。 Zuckerberg， ever fixated on increasing engagement and popularity on his site and vanquishing all rivals。 Sandberg， arrogant and constantly circumventing political imbroglios and anti-trust regulation。 A clear portrait emerges of a company with too much influence with too little oversight， mostly run by two people oblivious to the deleterious effects that their company has wrought。 Some attention is given late in the book to the efforts and concerns raised by Jim Steyer and Tim Wu about regulating the company and potentially breaking it up。 These concerns are only gaining momentum and as one gets a clearer picture of Zuckerberg and Sandberg the need for change seems more necessary。 Time and time again Zuckerberg and Sandberg have eluded the pressures calling for meaningful change from the government and internally at Facebook。 This books demonstrates that Facebook has an inability and unwillingness to correct course on its own， it will undoubtedly take legislation to do so。 The time for holding Facebook accountable is now rather than after another contentious election cycle that will become more volatile and problematic as a result of their platform。 。。。more
Alexander Ruchti
，