On Thursday, The New York Instances revealed a prolonged story concerning the rise in energy of Stephen Miller, a longtime loyalist of Donald Trump identified for his hardline views on immigration. Usually, a narrative like that wouldn’t get a lot consideration within the tech press. However the piece opened with an anecdote about Mark Zuckerberg that instantly raised eyebrows.
The story detailed a latest assembly Miller had with Zuckerberg when the Meta CEO traveled to Mar-a-Lago final 12 months. In accordance with The Instances, Zuckerberg — who would quickly resign Meta’s prior truth checking efforts and ditch company variety applications — “blamed his former chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, for an inclusivity initiative at Facebook that encouraged employees’ self-expression in the workplace.”
That line set off a recent spherical of hypothesis (and a few outrage) in tech circles. Sandberg, who left Meta in 2022 and rose to fame after authoring her ladies within the office manifesto Lean In, was identified for her as soon as shut partnership with Zuckerberg on the high of Fb. That Zuckerberg would blame his former high lieutenant for fostering “inclusivity” at his firm, raised eyebrows even amongst longtime observers of the corporate.
“She always knew who Mark Zuckerberg and covered for him,” New York Instances reporter Sheera Frankel, who co-wrote a guide about Fb’s dominance, noticed on Bluesky. “ The question is whether she will continue to do so when he so blatantly throws her under the (Trump) bus.” Journalist and longtime tech pundit Kara Swisher likewise famous that “folks I talked to tonight from the Mark/Sheryl Facebook era are shocked but not surprised by his blaming her.”
I additionally weighed in on my Threads account, sharing a hyperlink to a Enterprise Insider story from February that quoted an interview wherein Zuckerberg stated that Sandberg had raised him “like a parent.” I joked that the remark hadn’t aged effectively.
However on Friday, Zuckerberg determined to let me (and I suppose everybody else) know that he and Sandberg are nonetheless cool, in spite of everything. “Sheryl did amazing work at Meta and will forever be a legend in the industry,” he wrote in a reply to my submit. “She built one of the greatest businesses of all time and taught me much of what I know.”
Threads
Zuckerberg didn’t reply after I requested if Sandberg was too centered on DEI initiatives at Meta or whether or not she took away from the “masculine energy” he just lately advised Joe Rogan firms ought to embody. (Notably, he has not denied The Instances’ reporting about his feedback on Sandberg.)
Zuckerberg responded with a single coronary heart emoji.
So, I suppose that settles it. Nothing to see right here, people. Mark and Sheryl are undoubtedly nonetheless buddies. They could not work on the identical firm anymore, however they’re nonetheless in a position to come collectively to move off a possible PR disaster. What might be extra inspiring than that?
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Author : tech365
Publish date : 2025-01-17 22:54:25
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