Facebook says leaked memo ‘was intended to be provocative’
A FACEBOOK executive once said the company’s drive to connect people online was a good thing even if “someone dies in a terrorist attack” planned through the website.
Andrew Bosworth, wrote an internal memo in June 2016 that said the firm’s “ugly truth” was that it believed in improving connections between people, whatever the consequences.
The memo, which was made public by Buzzfeed News, has been dismissed by senior figures at Facebook, including Mr Bosworth, as not representing the company’s views.
Mr Bosworth was the vice-president of Facebook at the time he circulated the memo. It read: “So we connect more people. That can be bad if they make it negative. Maybe it costs a life by exposing someone to bullies. Maybe someone dies in a terrorist attack coordinated on our tools.
“And still we connect people. The ugly truth is that we believe in connecting people so deeply that anything that allows us to connect more people more often is *de facto* good. It is perhaps the only area where the metrics do tell the true story as far as we are concerned.”
It went on: “That’s why all the work we do in growth is justified. All the questionable contact-importing practices. All the subtle language that helps people stay searchable by friends. All of the work we do to bring more communication in. The work we will likely have to do in China some day. All of it.”
Mr Bosworth, said after the memo became public that he “didn’t agree” with the sentiments at the time and that he posted them to provoke new thinking among the company’s staff.
He said: “It was intended to be provocative. This was one of the most unpopular things I’ve ever written internally and the ensuing debate helped shape our tools for the better.”
Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of Facebook, said: “This was one that most people at Facebook, including myself, disagreed with strongly. We’ve never believed the ends justify the means.”