Over 30 early Facebook employees, including its first comms chief, write an open letter to Mark Zuckerberg opposing his choice to leave Trump's posts unaltered

In an open letter, nearly three dozen called on the chief executive to take action on President Trump's messages.

New York Times 2020-06-04 Mike Isaac

Context & Ripple Effects

The open letter is the third escalation in a week of internal revolt at Facebook. It follows a virtual walkout by hundreds of staff and comes one day after Zuckerberg told employees on an all-hands call that he would not bend on leaving Trump's posts up.

The letter's signatories carry unusual weight because they are early employees rather than rank-and-file staff, and their dissent echoes a longer pattern: over 250 employees had already signed an internal letter in late 2019 calling politicians' ability to lie in ads "a threat" to the company. Zuckerberg has so far responded with money and messaging — including a $10M pledge to racial justice groups — rather than policy change.

First-order effects

Zuckerberg faces a two-front legitimacy problem: current staff walked out while the people who built the company's early culture now publicly dispute his judgment, undermining his claim that the hands-off position reflects Facebook's values.
The letter raises the personal cost of Zuckerberg's stance, since opposition is now attributed to named, senior former insiders rather than anonymous internal forums.

Second-order effects

Facebook's recruiting and retention pitch weakens if prospective hires read the company as one where founder judgment overrides employee consensus, forcing management to spend more on internal persuasion after each moderation controversy.
The $10M philanthropic response signals that dissent will be answered with spending rather than policy shifts, setting a template rivals and advertisers will watch when they judge how seriously the company treats content controversies.

Third-order effects

If founder-controlled platforms keep resolving moderation disputes unilaterally against employee sentiment, expect growing calls for external governance — oversight boards or regulator involvement — to arbitrate what the internal process cannot.
The 2019 ad-lying letter, the walkout, and this letter together trace a structural shift: employee activism becoming a recurring check on executive power at consumer platforms, with each episode lowering the threshold for the next public protest.

The trend: Employee and alumni dissent is hardening into a standing counterweight to founder discretion over political speech on social platforms, escalating from anonymous letters to named public protest.

Discussion

@drose007 Dan Rose on x
Someone who worked at a company for a few years in the early days and then left (often because they were pushed out or couldn't scale) has zero moral authority to weigh-in on complex policy issues facing that company. Don't trade on your good fortune.
@mikeisaac Rat King on x
NEWS: Dozens of Facebook's earliest employees pen an open letter to Mark Zuckerberg, pushing back against his stance on Trump's posts. They helped build Facebook and wrote the original community guidelines. They believe Zuckerberg got it wrong. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@mollybedford Molly Bedford on x
Today's @nytimesbusiness cover. Employees, lawmakers and civil rights leaders speak out on Zuckerberg, who defends his hands-off approach to moderating content. Illustration by @carolynsewell https://twitter.com/...
@chamath Chamath Palihapitiya on x
Dan - This is fucking dumb even for you. There are battle lines of morality that are grey. Then, there are issues of social justice which aren't. FB made a biz decision and painted it in moral hazard. People aren't stupid so the truth would have been better. https://twitter.com/.…
@owenresistor Owen Anderson on x
I am proud to announce that as of the end of today, I am no longer a Facebook employee.
@shortformernie Ernie Smith on x
I really like the open letter these early Facebook employees sent out. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@sivavaid Siva Vaidhyanathan on x
Never having grown beyond the bubbles of prep school, Harvard, Silicon Valley, and Davos, Zuckerberg had no grasp of the varieties of human cruelty. He was oblivious to the ways in which “community” could oppress as well as comfort. https://www.wired.com/...
@can @can on x
Facebook is such a mess that now you have ex-Facebook people whining about ex-Facebook people whining about Facebook. https://twitter.com/...
@karaswisher Kara Swisher on x
That someone critical to Facebook's early years like ⁦@brandee has done this is a big deal. No matter how much FB defenders try to slag them, these people were ⁩crucial. I was there: Early Facebook Employees Disavow Zuckerberg's Stance on Trump Posts https://www.nytimes.com/...
@karaswisher Kara Swisher on x
Btw this is presumably the story he was referencing full of ex FB people taking a moral stand who also contributed much more to Facebook's success than he ever did. I know because I was there and I have the receipts: https://www.nytimes.com/...
@avtarramsingh Avtar on x
Bad take. Early employees have access to an “unguarded” leadership that doesn't talk like every word is going to be reported by the media, and early employees are far more aware of what a CEO / founding team truly thinks / believes in and is looking to build for. https://twitter.…
@ruskin147 Rory Cellan-Jones on x
Wow- the moral vacuum at the heart of Silicon Valley summed up in a tweet savagely dismantled by the excellent @karaswisher https://twitter.com/...
@karaswisher Kara Swisher on x
On brand for FB https://twitter.com/...
@flyosity Mike Rundle on x
Tech folks, remember, you're only allowed to have opinions on things if your opinions and your experiences have been sufficiently vetted by this guy. Don't forget, this is very important. https://twitter.com/...
@jason_kint Jason Kint on x
A bad take from a longtime Facebook lieutenant. But his voice and experience will matter when he gets deposed in the sea of Facebook antitrust investigations. https://twitter.com/...
@espiers Elizabeth Spiers on x
The idea that moral authority is determined by ability to scale is precisely why people think big tech is full of nihilists who are incapable of adjudicating anything values-based, complex or not. https://twitter.com/...
@mikeisaac Rat King on x
@sbyrnes i believe he's said that internally — he tends to dig in
@sethgrosenberg Seth Rosenberg on x
We've seen how unchecked authority leads to systemic oppression, yet we want to silence an open platform that enables stories like George Floyd's to be heard, shared, and opposed You can't have a system that silences voices you don't agree with but allows voices you support https…
@brianforde Brian Forde on x
Same guy who bragged about Russian billionaire's investment in @facebook as greatest deal! Big picture is not @drose007 thing 🤷‍♂️ https://twitter.com/...
@karaswisher Kara Swisher on x
A common and shabby trick by some powerful folks I've covered in Silicon Valley who have no real argument, so dismiss someone's valid insights by saying they do not scale or were pushed out. Many years ago, I was told I was “emotional” by a top Facebook exec when I expressed ... …
@nytmedia @nytmedia on x
“It is our shared heartbreak that motivates this letter. We are devastated to see something we built and something we believed would make the world a better place lose its way so profoundly,” wrote dozens who worked at Facebook in its early years. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@pkafka Peter Kafka on x
“...Facebook's choices appease those in power who have made misinformation, blatant racism and inciting violence part of their platform. Facebook says, and may even believe, that it is on the side of free speech. In fact, it has put itself on the side of profit and cowardice.” ht…
@sriramk Sriram Krishnan on x
If I can ask folks to make a leap of faith it would be: Zuck and a lot of the folks at FB are deeply thoughtful and empathetic and wrestling with some truly complex decisions.
@mdudas Mike Dudas on x
This is ridiculous and generally emblematic of the disdain that senior leaders at @Facebook seemingly have for their employees https://twitter.com/...
@sbyrnes Sean Byrnes on x
@MikeIsaac I predict that the more attacks on Zuckerberg, the less likely he is to change his mind.
@teddyschleifer Teddy Schleifer on x
Tired: Relitigating the 2016 election Wired: Relitigating why Facebook executives left their jobs a decade ago https://twitter.com/...
@ywxwy Tom Cook on x
My name isn't on the byline of this letter but as another early FBer I can vouch for all of these good people, their sincere motivations, and the contents of this letter to Mark. I hope this breaks through to him, but suspect his bubble is impossible to pierce. https://twitter.co…
@dhh @dhh on x
The only people who are qualified to comment on the “complex policy issues” facing Facebook are the ones whose stock options inform them that the correct course of action is... more of whatever is juicing the stock... what were we talking about again? Ah fascist mouthpieces yes. …
@caseynewton Casey Newton on x
I guess the moral high ground is reserved for guys who spent 12 years there and then fled after the 2016 election https://twitter.com/...
@brandee Brandee Barker on x
A plea from us to you, Mark & @Facebook to reconsider your position on content policy. Thank you. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@rsg Bobby Goodlatte on x
35 former Facebook employees—myself included—published a NYTimes op-ed today. We abhor watching a platform built to connect us used to divide. Fact checking is not censorship. Calls to violence & vote suppression do not belong. To FB—please reconsider ♥️ https://www.nytimes.com/.…
@vanitaguptacr Vanita Gupta on x
Early Facebook Employees Disavow Zuckerberg's Stance on Trump Posts In an open letter, nearly three dozen called on the chief executive to take action on President Trump's messages. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@just_jenna Jenna Lowenstein on x
My pal @adamconner is *usually* right — and is definitely right in this case. https://twitter.com/...
@melissaryan Melissa Ryan on x
Proud to see my friend @adamconner signed onto this letter. https://twitter.com/...
@b_fung Brian Fung on x
Remarkable letter by some of Facebook's earliest employees, who now say the company is unrecognizable and holds politicians to a lower standard than the regular people they govern. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@willhitchuva William Hitchcock on x
Strong piece by @sivavaid “Zuckerberg ... continues to believe in the positive power of Facebook, but that's because he believes in the raw power of Facebook. “Domination!,” he used to yell at staff meetings, indicating that everything is a game. Games can be won. He must win.” h…
@sivavaid Siva Vaidhyanathan on x
“I was wrong. I misjudged Zuckerberg. Another thing I learned from Levy's book is that along with an idealistic and naive account of human communication, Zuckerberg seems to love power more than he loves money or the potential to do good in the world.” https://www.wired.com/...
@michaelslinden Michael Linden on x
Here's the thing: it's not necessarily about Zuckerberg. Private concentrations of wealth and power are self-reinforcing. Almost anyone with this much power and this little public accountability is going to behave in his own interest, not the public's. https://twitter.com/...
@nelliebowles Nellie Bowles on x
Pretty amazing line from this group of early Facebook employees protesting Zuckerberg's decision to leave the Trump content up: “Facebook isn't neutral, and it never has been.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
@hshaban Hamza Shaban on x
In an open letter, nearly three dozen early Facebook employees called out Zuckerberg's inaction on Trump's post, calling the CEO's position a “betrayal” of Facebook's ideals and urged him to reconsider, @MikeIsaac reports. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@ceciliakang Cecilia Kang on x
“We grew up at Facebook, but it is no longer ours.” Scoop by @MikeIsaac https://twitter.com/...
@profgalloway Scott Galloway on x
.@Facebook employees holding virtual walkout against company's handling of Trump's posts. That'll show him... https://www.businessinsider.com/ ...
@jason_kint Jason Kint on x
Nah, here is the problem... the word “I” appears 296 times in this transcript. answers about decisions that affect over 2 billion people. https://twitter.com/...
@karaswisher Kara Swisher on x
Reading this transcript you get the overwhelming sense that Mark might spend too much time gathering too many signals so that it is all noise and no decision is ever the right one: Transcript of Mark Zuckerberg's meeting with Facebook employees about Trump https://www.vox.com/...
@lanceulanoff Lance Ulanoff on x
Facebook employee: I don't know. Correct me if I'm wrong. Besides Maxine, everyone you've listed is white, correct? Mark Zuckerberg: That's correct. https://www.vox.com/...
@juddlegum Judd Legum on x
3. “We removed this ad, which advocates the use of deadly weapons against a clearly defined group of people, for violating our policies against inciting violence,” Facebook spokesman Andy Stone said. But why was it allowed to run for more than 5 days? https://popular.info/...
@mbaram Marcus Baram on x
Amazing that Facebook allowed this ad to run—weeks after the controversy over its content—until @JuddLegum started asking questions about it. https://popular.info/... https://twitter.com/...
@jbrukh Jake Brukhman on x
Mark Zuckerberg can't win. The only way forward for platforms is decentralization, the only status that can make them truly and credibly neutral. https://www.vox.com/...
@vanitaguptacr Vanita Gupta on x
Read this and pay attention. This is how Zuckerberg is thinking abt democracy, speech, and racial justice at a critical moment when our nation is on the brink. This is why I compare what he's doing now in the US to FB's role in Myanmar and the Philippines. https://www.vox.com/...
@ainsleyoc Ainsley Harris on x
It's almost like a moral compass would be a useful thing for a CEO to possess https://twitter.com/...
@cblatts Chris Blattman on x
Whether Zuckerberg is making good or bad calls, this is way too much power for one company and executive to have. Also... he is making bad calls. https://twitter.com/...
@sharonwaxman Sharon Waxman on x
Zuck responds with an 890-words non-response about voter suppression. Sample word soup: “Well, I'll spend most the time addressing the policy question you have, which I think is — that's a real question and why one of the things that I think we need to raise going forward...
@shahmiruk @shahmiruk on x
Gosh I feel like a parrot. MARK ZUCKERBERG IS DANGEROUS. https://twitter.com/...
@shiringhaffary Shirin Ghaffary on x
NEW: Here's the transcript of over an hour of leaked audio from Zuckerberg's tense meeting with Facebook employees yesterday, in which the CEO explained his rationale for not taking down Trump's “looting ... shooting” post. https://www.vox.com/...
@ra Ramsey Nasser on x
shocking to learn that a twerp who made a php website once to creep on girls may actually be a dumbfuck who shouldn't be anywhere near the reigns of democracy https://twitter.com/...
@racheleklein Rachel Klein on x
I CANNOT stress enough how little content knowledge & critical thinking skills Mark Zuckerberg has. EVERY teacher recognizes this type of kind in their classroom. You TRY to find an inroad w/him & hope to engage his empathy. Sometimes it works; it clearly didn't stick w/Mark. htt…

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