Sheera Frenkel

Yes, FB is as bad as you think it is. From the lack of internal safeguards that let male engineers look up the information of women they were interested in—one of whom tracked down a woman with whom he’d had a fight after she left the hotel where they’d been staying--to crushing competition, it’s an organization out of control. The worst stories are about FB’s indifference to non-English speakers, where an inability to even understand hundreds of languages left FB ignorant of the show more genocidal campaigns being conducted on the site, particularly in Myanmar. The one person in charge of monitoring Myanmar spoke only Burmese, out of the about 100 languages present—as if a German speaker were responsible for moderating all Europe. Then FB refused to share information about deleted posts to prove the military’s responsibility for the genocide. “Facebook would cooperate … only if the United Nations created a mechanism to investigate human rights crimes. When [the relevant person] pointed out that the United Nations had such a system in place, known as the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, the Facebook representative looked at him with surprise and asked him to explain.” With great power does not, in fact, come great responsibility—not unless either law or an ethical compass provide it. show less

I started reading "An Ugly Truth" as professional "homework" of sorts. As an adjunct professor who teaches media literacy to about 200 college students each year, I sensed it was important to read a book written by acclaimed New York Times reporters that explores "Facebook's battle for domination." I found my "homework" educational and enjoyable. I surprised myself by finishing the book in only a few days. True, some of the key issues have already been extensively explored in other media show more arenas, including the ongoing debate over efforts to protect digital privacy. But Frenkel and Kang provide insights into so many critically important issues. For example, they vividly chronicle how behavioral advertising can be a "digital data vacuum cleaner on steroids." They explore how algorithms linked in clicks, likes and shares can favor sensationalism in a way that crowns false, salacious content as king. "An Ugly Truth" has provided a treasure trove of material that will undoubtedly spur lively discussions when my students examine the impact of social media on society. show less

In-depth, well-reported look inside Facebook (aka "the cesspool") and its myriad problems. After reading this, I've come to the only conclusion possible. The good does not outweigh the bad and the company should be broken up.

I knew Facebook has never placed much importance on user safety but i had NO IDEA it was this bad! All the lying, misinterpretation of the law to accommodate the company's agenda, man.... these people are shady as hell!