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Meta tried to quash this whistleblower’s explosive memoir. It becomes No. 1 bestseller

Meta had denounced the book in its official statement, terming it as the work of a disgruntled employee fired for "toxic behavior" and poor performance.

Published on: Mar 21, 2025, 14:31:27 IST
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Sarah Wynn-Williams' memoir of her time working in global policy at Meta portrayed the company and its executives unflatteringly, making the tech giant attempt to quash the book in court.

Sarah Wynn-Williams' memoir 'Careless People' critiques Meta's corporate culture, alleging misconduct by executives, including Mark Zuckerberg. (AP/World Economic Forum)
Sarah Wynn-Williams' memoir 'Careless People' critiques Meta's corporate culture, alleging misconduct by executives, including Mark Zuckerberg. (AP/World Economic Forum)

However, this action set off a wave of headlines on the matter and drew so much attention that the book debuted at No.1 on The New York Times Bestseller non-fiction list, according to a Business Insider report.

It now, also ranks fifth on Amazon's bestseller list.

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This is despite the judge having ruled that Wynn-Williams likely violated her non-disparagement agreement with the company and thus, had to stop promoting or selling the book.

However, its publisher pointed out that the arbitration ruling did not actually affect it, with the book currently on sale now, according to the report.

The book was also announced abruptly less than a week before its release, while non-fiction books in general are announced months or even years in advance to drive up publicity.

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Meta however, has denounced its contents in its official statement, terming it as the work of a disgruntled employee fired for "toxic behavior" and poor performance.

The book is “full of lies,” the report quoted Andrew Bosworth, the CTO of Meta as saying. "Literally stories that did not happen."

Meta employee Katie Harbath who overlapped with Wynn-Williams, also pointed out some alleged inaccuracies in a blog post, though another former employee supported the book publicly on LinkedIn, according to the report.

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Meta's PR team on the other hand, dedicated an entire page on its website to point out that the book is full of “old news.”

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