Facebook reviews defenses as exec pulls foot from mouth
Facebook held a press conference on Thursday to provide details about its efforts to prevent electoral manipulation, only to have its damage control eclipsed by the publication of an executive's internal memo from 2016 suggesting growth mattered more than human life. Acknowledging that Facebook … Read More
A look at Facebook’s ‘ugly’ memo
The leaked Facebook memo, entitled "The Ugly" and penned by longtime exec Andrew "Boz" Bosworth, has upped the creepy quotient on the world's largest social network, even as it wrangles with the current scandal about its data dealings and the work of voter-profiling firm Cambridge Analytica. Read More
Quitting Facebook? Download your data before you go
If you are finally ready to quit Facebook once and for all, you should take your data — all your posts and messages, photos and videos, friends and groups and so on — with you before you go. Thankfully, Facebook makes it easy to download your data. So easy, in …
After leaked memo, Facebook seems to reckon with culture shift
Even as it preached openness, compared to other companies in Silicon Valley, Facebook was relatively leak-proof. Now, that appears to be changing. On Thursday, someone leaked an explosive memo from one of the company's internal discussion groups. It was a major reveal that took on an energy of … Read More
Facebook Employees in an Uproar Over Executive’s Leaked Memo
In the memo, Andrew Bosworth, a Facebook vice president, wrote, “Maybe someone dies in a terrorist attack coordinated on our tools. And still we connect people. The ugly truth is that we believe in connecting people so deeply that anything that allows us to connect more people more often is …
Internal posts show Facebook workers condemning leakers and fearing ‘spies’
While Facebook's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, publicly sought to distance himself from the controversial memo, many of his staff, it appears, focused their ire on the leaker, lashing out at disloyalty within the company. The extraordinary messages obtained by tech website the Verge provide a rare window into … Read More
Facebook’s Troubles Underscore Blockchains’ Opportunity
Every action you perform on Facebook—and its sister services like Instagram and WhatsApp—surrenders data to the business' well-oiled surveillance machinery. Maintaining a presence on the social network means granting the company the right to steward—and sell—your personal information to … Read More
Facebook’s mission changed, but its motives didn’t
In January, Facebook announced that it would be changing its feed algorithm to promote users' well-being over time spent browsing content. That's a relatively new approach for a company whose ethos once centered around “move fast, break things.” It wasn't all that long ago (approximately a year and … Read More
Why the Leaked Facebook Memo Is So Dangerous for Zuckerberg
Each time a fresh scandal plays out at Facebook, the company positions itself as playing catch-up. Apparently alarmed and dismayed at the ready spread of fake news on its platform, Facebook de-emphasized posts from media companies. Faced with a decline in user trust, Facebook admitted it might be … Read More
Facebook Sees New Backlash For Leaked Memo Promoting Growth Over Safety
Following weeks of public uproar over its role in the recent Cambridge Analytics 'scandal,' Facebook is now facing fresh ire over an internal memo that seems to prioritize user growth above users' real-life outcomes on the platform. Yesterday, BuzzFeed published an "extraordinary" memo written by … Read More