It was actually Meta that first informed me about the new book criticizing Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, and the supposedly compromised ethics of their organization. On March 7, a public relations representative from Meta reached out to see if I was aware of Careless People, a book presumably aimed at dismantling the company, set to launch shortly. I was not aware. No one at Meta had yet read the book, but the communications team was already taking preventative measures to refute it, issuing a statement that labeled the author as a former employee who had been “terminated” in 2017.
My initial reaction was Wow, I’ve got to read this book! And indeed, I did, finishing it in a single night as soon as it was released. Thanks to the attention drawn by Meta’s protests, I suspect Careless People may become a compelling read. Meta—the organization that positions itself as a champion of free expression—has managed to persuade an arbitrator to impose restrictions on the author, Sarah Wynn-Williams, who held the role of director responsible for linking Meta’s executives with global leaders. The ruling, which hinged on a non-disclosure agreement signed following Wynn-Williams’ termination, mandates that she cease promoting the book, take all necessary measures to prevent its publication, and retract any comments deemed “disparaging, critical, or otherwise harmful” regarding Meta. That pretty much encapsulates the entirety of the book. Wynn-Williams, who has reported herself as a whistleblower to the SEC, skipped the hearing and appears unyielding regarding the ruling. As I pen this, Careless People ranks as the third-best-selling book on Amazon.
The arbitrator’s decision, favorable to Meta, marked the peak of a vigorous campaign against the book that intensified once the company caught a glimpse of its content. While I was engrossed in Careless People, my email was inundated with messages from Meta. “Her book is a blend of outdated claims and inaccurate allegations about our executives,” claimed a company spokesperson. They described her dismissal as stemming from “poor performance and toxic behavior” and labeled her as “a disgruntled activist attempting to sell books.” Meanwhile, on social media, current and former employees rushed to defend the criticized executives.
If the information is so redundant, one might wonder why Meta is escalating its actions against Wynn-Williams. For one, the author was a senior executive who witnessed pivotal moments firsthand—and her assertions suggest that the reality was even more troubling than previously thought. Yes, Meta’s careless negligence in Myanmar, where lives were lost in riots instigated by misinformation on Facebook, has been covered in the past, and the company has since offered apologies. However, Wynn-Williams’ account reveals that Meta’s leaders appeared to show a striking indifference towards the associated dangers. Although media outlets have reported on Zuckerberg’s fixation with gaining entry into China, Wynn-Williams unveils official documents indicating that Meta instructed the Chinese government on facial recognition technology and artificial intelligence. She claims the company’s conduct was so outrageous that the team created headlines outlining potential fallout if their tactics were exposed. One such example: “Zuckerberg Will Stop at Nothing to Get Into China.” While Meta dismisses the veracity of the book, they have not explicitly refuted the specific allegations. (Generally, when a corporation attempts to downplay accusations as “old news,” it often signals implicit validation.)
Yet, given what we already know about Meta, nothing Wynn-Williams asserts about the company’s actions and inactions is particularly shocking. Careless People is not an investigative narrative but rather a memoir, with the central theme being the observed apathy of the company’s leadership. Given this personal emphasis, it’s unsurprising that Careless People features its most striking moments not from Meta’s deficient corporate ethics but from scandalous anecdotes regarding misbehavior aboard corporate jets or at upscale hotels. Despite the lofty title nodding to F. Scott Fitzgerald, much of the book resembles a Big Tech iteration of White Lotus. Wynn-Williams recounts an instance where Sheryl Sandberg pressured her to share a bed mid-flight and alleges that Meta’s chief global affairs officer Joel Kaplan referred to her as “sultry” and danced inappropriately with her at a corporate retreat. (This incident prompted her to file a sexual harassment claim, which Meta now describes as “misleading and unfounded.”) Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg reportedly believes Andrew Jackson was the most effective president because he “got things done.”
Can she be trusted? Meta derides Wynn-Williams as an unreliable narrator, and she does have her own interests at stake. Personally, I believe she isn’t fabricating stories but rather presenting events in the least favorable light for the individuals involved, while portraying herself in a more favorable light. Moreover, she may not fully acknowledge that she’s also one of the careless people. By her own admission, she was the Susan Collins of Facebook’s policy team, expressing concerns over ethically dubious practices, yet ultimately going along with the prevailing agenda. She claims to have plotted her escape for years but felt trapped by her financial predicament and health insurance needs due to her serious medical issues. Given that she was a corporate director earning millions of dollars and that California protects against preexisting conditions in private health insurance, this reasoning feels somewhat lacking. She remained in her role until she was let go. By that point, her account suggests she had already started to slow down her efforts in light of disagreements with her superiors’ policies.
