Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
An Ugly Truth
An Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook's Battle for Domination | Sheera Frenkel, Cecilia Kang
6 posts | 6 read | 9 to read
Two prize-winning New York Times investigative journalists reveal how the pressure to grow and a culture of hubris led to crisis within the tech giant Facebook, in this explosive, news-making book. In November 2018, the New York Times published a bombshell in-depth investigation that exposed, with disturbing insider detail, how leadership decisions at Facebook enabled, and then tried to cover up, massive privacy breaches and Russian meddling in the 2016 election. The story quickly shot to the top of the paper's most emailed list. It would earn the team of Times reporters a prestigious Loeb award, the George Polk award, and a spot on the Pulitzer short list. But it only skimmed the surface. The investigation's lead reporters, Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia Kang, spent eighteen months piecing together the story of how one of the most powerful companies in the world tried to bury a damning truth--that Facebook has become a conduit for disinformation, hate speech, and political propaganda. The unrivaled sources of these two veteran journalists led them to perhaps the most recognizable names in the tech industry: Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg. Both have long existed as archetypes of uniquely twenty-first century executives--he, the tech "boy genius" turned billionaire, she, the ultimate woman in business, an inspiration to millions through her books and speeches. At Any Cost is the definitive story of Facebook's fall from grace, following the embattled company from 2011, when its power and positive influence was undisputed, to 2020, when it will face its biggest test yet--the US presidential election. What are the ultimate ramifications when a few individuals are in charge of the technology used by half the world's population? Can they control the technology they've unleashed into the world? And if not, can we, as individuals and as a society, control them?
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
review
Hooked_on_books
post image
Pickpick

An Ugly Truth is the exploration of the refusal by Facebook to take responsibility for the content on their site, thereby leading to Russian interference in elections, the amplification of misinformation, and the targeting of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. I knew it was ugly, but it‘s even uglier than I thought. Excellent reading that makes me even happier to have Litsy instead.

Suet624 I guess I need to find this book. I haven‘t quite pulled the plug on Facebook but want to. 2y
AmyG Do it @Suet624 ....after time you don‘t miss it at all. 2y
Hooked_on_books @Suet624 This book will definitely make you want to pull the plug! (I did years ago and have no regrets.) 2y
Megabooks This was an interesting one and pretty terrible. 2y
53 likes4 comments
blurb
jpj7474

Nothing beyond what can be read in daily news stories if you've followed the growth of Facebook. Chapters on the initial development much more interesting than on the more recent debate regarding monitoring & fact checking content.

1 stack add
blurb
TheBookStacker
post image

This book is so interesting especially given all the events of this week, great book.

26 likes1 stack add
review
Mdion1993
post image
Mehso-so

I was torn reading this book. AUT provides a detailed history of Facebook, and addresses many important topics. Specifically, does Facebook have a moral duty to society? However, the bias of the two authors is very apparent. While I agree with Frenkel and Kang at times, it‘s worth acknowledging their own backgrounds in media, and how its business model might not be so different from the one they disparage their digital competitor for.

blurb
bio_chem06
post image

I am so excited about this library haul. I haven‘t looked this forward to my book choices in months.

review
Megabooks
post image
Pickpick

Reporters from the NYT look at Facebook‘s reach and policies, especially in regards to politics. The book focuses on Zuckerberg and Sandberg and how their personal interests and blind spots shaped Facebook. The authors discuss the effect FB had on the 2016 and 2020 US elections and how FB policies evolved because of them. As an example of FB‘s reach and danger in other countries, they look at ethnic cleansing of Muslims in #Myanmar.

Librarybelle Nice! 3y
AmyG Not a FB or Zuckerberg fan. 3y
See All 7 Comments
Megabooks @AmyG me either. 3y
Cinfhen Cool find for the #ReadingAsia21 challenge 3y
Megabooks @Librarybelle 👍🏻👍🏻 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen I thought so. Nice surprise 3y
72 likes4 stack adds7 comments