Why Mark Zuckerberg is so afraid of this book

Recently, in the United States, Careless People was published, a book written by a former Meta employee named Sarah Wynn-Williams, which is highly critical of the company and Mark Zuckerberg. The book has been available in U.S. bookstores since March 11 and has attracted attention—not only for its subject matter but also because it was released without any promotion. It is increasingly rare for a whistleblowing work to be published without prior leaks or previews. However, Careless People became a publishing sensation almost overnight, surprising critics and the public—along with Meta's top executives. The book, among other things, reports alleged cases of harassment and inappropriate behavior by some company executives towards Wynn-Williams and others. In particular, it describes an incident in which Meta’s President of Global Affairs, Joel Kaplan—who is closely tied to the Republican Party—allegedly attempted to approach Wynn-Williams during a company party, making inappropriate comments toward her.

This is not the first time that accusations of various kinds have been made against Meta’s executives. Careless People is just the latest in a series of publications that criticize the company. It is not uncommon for Meta’s own employees to reveal to U.S. media certain company decisions deemed questionable, such as Zuckerberg’s increasingly evident alignment with Donald Trump. Although Meta threatens to fire those responsible for leaks, it almost always responds to the criticism generated by these same leaks—sometimes denying the reported issues, other times promising to address them. However, with Careless People, the company immediately labeled the book as false, calling it a defamatory publication. As a result, Meta has tried to limit the book’s distribution by appealing to a court. Wynn-Williams' contract—since she worked at Meta as a lobbyist for political and institutional relations—would prevent her from making negative statements about the company after her employment ended. Such clauses are not uncommon in the job market of English-speaking countries, especially for high-profile roles. On this basis, Meta obtained a court order requiring Wynn-Williams to halt—pending a final ruling—the promotion of Careless People. However, the injunction has not negatively impacted the book’s sales: on the contrary, the controversy surrounding it has made the publication even more popular, leading to a growing number of purchases and temporarily placing it at the top of Amazon’s U.S. bestseller list.

Careless People also discusses Zuckerberg’s shift in approach, suggesting that, over the years, he has become an extremely vain figure—essentially turning into a parody of himself, according to Wynn-Williams. Zuckerberg is among the major U.S. entrepreneurs who are actively trying to win favor with the new U.S. president in an effort to gain benefits for their companies. The book also recounts how, in 2016, Meta decided to support Donald Trump’s election campaign against Hillary Clinton. It is no longer surprising, then, that the Facebook founder—once associated with progressive circles—has admitted to regretting some of his past decisions regarding content moderation. In this context, Careless People details Zuckerberg’s alleged attempts to make significant concessions to the Chinese president in an effort to gain access to the Chinese market, where Facebook is currently banned due to government censorship, in hopes of securing hundreds of millions of new users for the platform.