Well, specifically, they want me to know.
The New York Times published a lengthy article on Thursday on the rise in power of Stephen Miller, a longtime supporter of Donald Trump who is known for his controversial views on immigration. The article was about Miller's climb to power. Typically, a story of that nature would not receive a great deal of attention in the technology press. A story concerning Mark Zuckerberg was told at the beginning of the article, which caused eyebrows to be raised almost quickly.
Miller had a recent encounter with Zuckerberg, which took place when the CEO of Meta came to Mar-a-Lago in the previous year. The narrative documented the conversation. According to The Times, Zuckerberg "blamed his former chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, for an inclusivity initiative at Facebook that encouraged employees' self-expression in the workplace." This was in reference to the fact that Zuckerberg would soon abandon corporate diversity programs and renounce Meta's previous efforts to check facts.
The statement in question sparked a new round of inquiry (and even indignation) among some in the technology community. Sandberg was well-known for her once close cooperation with Zuckerberg at the top of Facebook. She departed Meta in 2022 and got to popularity after writing her women in the workplace manifesto Lean In. Sandberg's rise to stardom began after she published the manifesto. Even among those who have been following the company for a very long time, the fact that Zuckerberg would criticize his former top lieutenant for creating "inclusivity" at his company caused eyebrows to be raised.
A reporter for the New York Times named Sheera Frankel, who also contributed to the writing of a book on the power of Facebook, made the observation on Bluesky that "She always knew who Mark Zuckerberg was and covered for him." The question that needs to be answered is whether or not she will continue to do so regardless of how brazenly he throws her under the bus (Trump). Kara Swisher, a journalist and a longstanding influencer in the field of technology, made a similar observation, stating that "people I talked to tonight from the Mark/Sheryl Facebook era are shocked but not surprised by his blaming her."
In addition, I contributed to my Threads account by posting a link to a Business Insider article from February. The article cited an interview in which Zuckerberg stated that Sandberg had raised him "like a parent." I made a joke about how the statement had not aged correctly.
On the other hand, Zuckerberg made the decision on Friday to let me (and I suppose everyone else) know that he and Sandberg are still doing well in spite of everything. He responded to my message by writing, "Sheryl did amazing work at Meta and will forever be a legend in the industry." I found this to be quite interesting. "She was the one who taught me a lot of what I know and built one of the most successful businesses in the history of the world."
A few minutes later, Sandberg rushed in to reassure me that she does not harbor any ill will toward me and that she does not have any hard feelings either. "You are very kind, @zuck. The many years that we spent together developing a great business will always be something for which I will be grateful. I will also be grateful for your friendship, which helped me get through some of the most difficult moments in my life and continues to this day.
With a single heart emoji, Zuckerberg responded to the question.
I inquired of Zuckerberg whether he believed that Sandberg was excessively focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion measures at Meta, or whether she disrupted the "masculine energy" that he had just advised Joe Rogan that firms had to exude. Importantly, he has not refuted the reporting that The Times has done on his remarks concerning Sandberg, despite the fact that he has asserted that they are being misunderstood.
"I answered a question about where the phrase 'bring your whole self to work' came from, and now there's a whole bogus narrative saying I blamed Sheryl for a bunch of stuff that I never did and never will," he said to reporters. (Bringing your "whole self" to work is a concept that was popularized by Sandberg because of his book "Lean In." In instances where Meta touted the diversity of its workforce, the company's careers website frequently had language that was virtually identical. "Being your authentic self is the foundation of who we are as a company," Meta wrote on a page of its corporate website that has since been deleted. This page was where the company posted its internal diversity reports.
Now, I suppose that puts an end to it. People, there is nothing to see here. There is no doubt that Mark and Sheryl continue to be friends. Despite the fact that they no longer work for the same firm, they are still able to collaborate in order to prevent a potential public relations catastrophe from occurring. What could possibly be more motivating than that to you?
At four o'clock in the afternoon, Pacific Time, on January 17, 2025: A new comment made by Zuckerberg has been incorporated into this post, which has been kept up to date.
