DigeeBooks

“The ultimate takedown.” – New York Times Book Review

Award-winning New York Times reporters Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia Kang unveil the tech story of our times in a riveting, behind-the-scenes exposé 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 21^st 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. 

An Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook's Battle for Domination by Sheera Frenkel is an insightful and meticulously researched account of the rise and fall of Facebook, one of the most influential tech companies in the world. Frenkel, a technology reporter for The New York Times, draws on interviews with current and former Facebook employees, executives, and government officials to paint a comprehensive picture of the company's inner workings and the controversies that have plagued it in recent years.

The book begins by delving into the early days of Facebook, when Mark Zuckerberg and his college roommates launched the social networking site as a way for students to connect with each other. Frenkel details the company's rapid growth and its subsequent transition into a global phenomenon, with over two billion active users. However, she also highlights the numerous challenges that Facebook has faced along the way, including allegations of privacy violations, the spread of misinformation, and the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Frenkel's analysis of Facebook's business practices is particularly astute. She explains how the company's reliance on advertising revenue has led it to prioritize growth and engagement over user privacy and safety. She also examines Facebook's use of artificial intelligence and algorithms to manipulate users' behavior and target them with personalized ads.

One of the most compelling aspects of An Ugly Truth is Frenkel's exploration of the company's culture. She describes a workplace where employees are encouraged to work long hours and where dissent is often stifled. She also sheds light on the intense pressure that Facebook executives face to maintain the company's growth and dominance.

An Ugly Truth is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the impact that Facebook has had on society. It is a cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked corporate power and the need for greater regulation of tech companies.