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SAN FRANCISCO – On Friday afternoon, Mark Zuckerberg vigorously defended Facebook during a question-and-answer session with employees. He objected to critics of the company following a New York Times investigation into his reaction to Russian influence operations.
In a one-hour videoconference aired at Facebook offices around the world, Zuckerberg answered questions from his employees on various topics, ranging from Facebook's behavior over the last 18 months to how it should be manage leaks to the media, according to three people familiar with the media. the discussion but not willing to discuss it publicly because it was a private meeting.
The idea that Facebook was trying to "hide anything" was totally false, said Zuckerberg, an enthusiast, using an explosive response in his response, according to these people. Some employees responded with applause and muffled cheers.
The session was held at a difficult time for the social network, while leaders were mobilized to deal with a torrent of criticism of society. A spokeswoman for Facebook declined to comment on Friday's meeting.
On Wednesday, the Times reported a fight at the top ranks of Facebook to find out how to react to Russian misinformation and revelations of insufficient data privacy protection. In particular, there was considerable tension between Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook, and Alex Stamos, the company's former safety officer.
"Yes, Sheryl Sandberg shouted at me," Stamos said in a statement. Opinion article published in the Washington Post Saturday. "I did not think that we had discovered all that the Russians were doing, and it was quite possible that the situation worsened before we built the teams and inventions the technology necessary to put an end to it. Sheryl – as reported in the New York Times survey last week – was caught off guard. (She apologized later.) "
The company also hired consulting firm, Definers Public Affairs, a Washington, DC-based consulting firm to implement opposition research on Facebook's critics. The Definitors have also linked George Soros, the Liberal financier, to anti-Facebook groups. Facebook cut ties with the company after the publication of the Times' investigation.
During a teleconference with reporters on Thursday, Zuckerberg criticized what Definers had done on behalf of his company and said that she and Sandberg were unaware of the specific work done by the company. exterior. He added that some of the company's communications staff had probably hired Definers, although he later complimented the communications staff for his "hard work".
"In general, we need to go through all of our relationships and assess what might be more typical relationships in C. and decide if we want to continue with them," Zuckerberg said.
Zuckerberg said most criticisms of his company over the past 18 months – specifically about electoral security, content moderation and misinformation – had been fair and important.
Ms. Sandberg, who also attended the session, added that "I fully accept the responsibility of the Definers," according to two people familiar with the conversation. "It was on me."
But Zuckerberg and Sandberg said the Times investigation was "completely unfair" and sometimes "just plain wrong".
Much of the discussion focused on increasing employee morale. Elliot Schrage, former Vice President of Global Communications and Public Policy for Facebook, returned to the company Friday for the meeting.
Schrage said Facebook has a difficult news cycle and the situation may be calmer. He urged workers to continue to do their best and tackle the difficult problems of the company.
Some Facebook employees said they thought The Times and other news outlets were unfairly targeting the company because of its disproportionate influence – a shared sentiment during Friday's session when employees were asked the leaders what would happen to employees who relay information to the press.
Zuckerberg said Facebook would not hesitate to fire employees who spoke to the New York Times or other publications. But when an employee asked if the company was to release a report on the number of leaks detected by Facebook and fired by Facebook, Mr. Zuckerberg downplayed this idea.
Leaks, he says, are usually caused by "morale problems".
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