In 2021, as a whistleblower emerged with dramatic allegations that Facebook was harming children, CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted a rebuttal on Facebook. “We care deeply about issues like safety, well-being and mental health. It’s difficult to see coverage that misrepresents our work and our motives,” he wrote in a note to Meta staff, which he reposted publicly. “At the most basic level, I think most of us just don’t recognize the false picture of the company that is being painted.”
Away from the stream of often inane public replies, one reader didn’t like what they saw. Zuckerberg spoke with the unidentified person privately on WhatsApp, according to exhibits later released as part of a series of lawsuits, and the figure urged Zuckerberg — a parent himself — to make child safety even more central in his messaging. “i am not saying facebook is duplicitous and evil,” they wrote. “i am saying the opposite, you have heard the chorus and will PERSONALLY make this issue over adolescents your issue.”
In the privacy of the conversation, Zuckerberg was candid. “I care deeply about this and we’ll continue focusing on being industry-leading with young people,” he responded, “but I’m…
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