Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Facebook whistleblower turned down $64G severance package that would have bought her silence: report

Facebook whistleblower turned down $64G severance package that would have bought her silence: report

Data scientist Sophie Zhang said she found coordinated inauthentic behavior linked to governments in numerous countries

Former Facebook data scientist turned whistleblower Sophie Zhang, who was fired from the social media giant last year, turned down a $64,000 severance package that would have bought her silence, according to a new report.

In a rare interview with MIT Technology Review, an independent publication owned by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Zhang revealed new details about trading her career for her beliefs to expose allegations of worldwide political manipulation.

"I was the only one in this position of responsibility from the start," she told the magazine. "And someone had to take the responsibility and do the utmost to protect people."

But while it was her job to uncover such activity, she had no way to crack down on it once she found it, she said.

"Everyone agreed that it was terrible," she told the publication. "No one could agree who should be responsible, or even what should be done."

Zhang, who told the magazine that she is autistic, explained that the ordeal left her frustrated and, as a result, in declining mental health.

"I have no talent for persuasion and convincing," she said. "If I were someone born with a silver tongue, perhaps I could have made changes."

In an explosive memo first reported by Buzzfeed News in September 2020, she claimed that world leaders used fake accounts for political gain as Facebook looked away – allegedly misleading their own citizens and drowning out critics.

She wrote that she had found evidence showing Brazilian and Indian lawmakers had received millions of fake interactions during election season. The government of Azerbaijan used thousands of fake pages to combat opposition. And the Spanish Health Ministry benefitted from collaborative manipulation during the coronavirus pandemic, although it remains unclear who was responsible. And those were just some examples.

"I know that I have blood on my hands by now," she wrote in the memo.

Facebook has denied the claims.

"We’ve built specialized teams, working with leading experts, to stop bad actors from abusing our systems, resulting in the removal of more than 100 networks for coordinated inauthentic behavior," Facebook said at the time. "It’s highly involved work that these teams do as their full-time remit. Working against coordinated inauthentic behavior is our priority, but we’re also addressing the problems of spam and fake engagement. We investigate each issue carefully, including those that Ms. Zhang raises, before we take action or go out and make claims publicly as a company."

After her firing, Zhang reposted her memo on her personal website, but made it visible via a password that was only given to Facebook employees. She told the Technology Review that Facebook asked her to take it down. She refused. Then her hosting service shut down her website after allegedly receiving a complaint from the social media giant.

She told FOX Business Thursday evening that her personal site remains shut down to this day, and the memo has remained offline since Sept. 7, 2020.

Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The company regularly provides updates on its efforts against what it calls coordinated inauthentic behavior, or CIB.

That can include using networks of fake accounts to share, like or comment on posts, artificially boosting their engagement metrics and broadening their reach.

The company often bans hundreds or thousands of accounts at a time from both Facebook and Instagram for engaging in such activities. Many of them have been linked to Russia and Iran, but others have originated around the globe.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Hungary's Prime Minister Criticizes NATO's Role in Ukraine
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Hungarian Scientist to Conduct 30 Research Experiments on the International Space Station
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
International Astronaut Team Launched to Space Station
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
Oil Prices Set to Surge After US Strikes Iran
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
×