oaior2021 ‘Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg's Parinership Did Not Survive Trump - The New York Times EheNew York Eimes | i9s://wwwrytime Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg’s Partnership Did Not Survive Trump ‘The company they built is wildly successful. But her Washington wisdom didn't hold up, and neither did their close working relationship. a0 Pubes hy 82021 Upéaad 9, 2021, 712407 ET Sheryl Sandberg knew she'd be asked about the attacks on the Capitol. For the past week, the country had been reeling from the violence in Washington, and with each passing day, reporters were ‘uncovering more ofthe footprint left behind by the rioters on social media, ‘Speaking to the cameras rolling in her sun-flled Menlo Park, Calif, garden, Ms. Sandberg confronted this question, one she'd prepared for: Could Facebook have acted sooner to help prevent this? ‘Ms. Sandberg noted that the company had taken down many pages supporting the Proud Boys, afar-tight militia, and “Stop the Steal” groups organized around the false claim that President Donald J. Trump had won the 2020 election. Enforcement was never perfect, she added, so some inflammatory posts remained up. But, she added, the blame primarily lay elsewhere. “I think these events were largely organized on platforms that don't have our abilities to stop hate, don't have our standards, and don’t hhave our transparency.” she said, That comment was picked up by news outlets across the world, Outraged members of Congress and researchers who studied right- wing groups accused Facebook of abdicating responsibility. “Those within Ms. Sandberg’s inner circle told her what she wanted to hear: Her words were being taken out of context, journalists were unfairly piling on, it wasn't her fault. But in other parts of the company, executives whispered to each other that Ms. Sandberg had, once again, slipped up. She was deflecting blame cast on her, or Facebook, they said. Days later, indictments began to roll in for the rioters who had taken part in the attacks. In one indictment, lawyers revealed how, in the weeks leading up to the Jan. 6 attacks, Thomas Caldwell and members of his militia group, the Oath Keepers, had openly discussed over Facebook the hotel rooms, airfare and other logistics around their trip to ‘Washington, n the day itself, people freely celebrated with posts on Facebook and Instagram. Minutes after Mr. Trump ended his speech with a call to his supporters to “Walk down Pennsylvania Avenue” toward the Capitol building, where hundreds of members of Congress sat, people within the crowd used their phones tolivestream clashes with police and the storming of the barricades outside the building, ‘Many, including Mr, Caldwell, were getting messages on Facebook Messenger from allies watching their advance from afar. “All members are in the tunnel under” the Capitol read the message Mr. Caldwell received as he neared the building. Referring to ‘members of Congress, the message added, “Seal them in, Turn on Gas” ‘Moments later, Mr. Caldwell posted a quick update on Facebook that read, “Inside” ‘The indictments made it clear just how large a part Facebook had played, both in spreading misinformation about election fraud to fuel anger among the Jan. 6 protesters, and in aiding the extremist militia’s communication ahead of the riots. For months, Facebook would be a footnote to a day that challenged the heart of American democracy. And Ms. Sandberg's words attempting to place the blame elsewhere would continue to haunt her. In the years since Mr. Trump won the 2016 election, Facebook has struggled with the role it played in his rise and in the growth of populist leaders across the world. The same tools that allowed Facebook's business to more than double during those years — such as. the News Feed that prioritized engagement and the Facebook groups that pushed like-minded people together — had been used to spread misinformation. ‘To achieve its record-setting growth, the company had continued building on its core technology, making business decisions based on how many hours of the day people spent on Facebook and how many times a day they returned. Facebook's algorithms didn’t ‘measure if the magnetic force pulling them back to Facebook was the habit of wishing a friend happy birthday, or a rabbit hole of conspiracies and misinformation, hitps:twwn.nytimes.com/202'07/08/businessimark-2uckerborg.shery-sandborg facebook him?action-click&module=Well8pglype-Homepage.... 1/10oaior2021 ‘Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg's Parinership Did Not Survive Trump - The New York Times Facebook's problems were features, not bugs, and were the natural outgrowth of a 13-year partnership between Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's chief executive and one of its founders, and his erudite business partner, Ms, Sandberg, its chief operating officer. He was the technology visionary and she understood how to generate revenue from the attention of Facebook's now 2.8 billion users. They worked in concert to create the world's biggest exchange of ideas and communication, This account, adapted from a forthcoming book on Facebook, is drawn from more than 400 interviews, including those with former and current employees ofall levels of the company. The interviews paint a portrait of the Trump presidency as a trying period for the company and for its top leaders. The Trump era tested a central relationship at Facebook — between Ms. Sandberg and Mt. Zuckerberg — and she became increasingly isolated. Her role as the C.E.O's second-in-command was less certain with his elevation of several other executives, and with her diminishing influence in Washington. The view from inside the upper echelons of the company was clear: It fel as though Facebook was no longer led by a No. 1 and No. 2, but a No, Land many. ‘The pair continued their twice weekly meetings, but Mr. Zuckerberg took over more of the areas once under her purview. He made the final call on issues surrounding Mr. Trump's spread of hate speech and dangerous misinformation, decisions Ms. Sandberg often lobbied against or told allies she felt uncomfortable with. Mr. Zuckerberg oversaw efforts in Washington to fend off regulations and had forged a friendly relationship with Mr. Trump. Ms. Sandberg surrounded herself with a “kitchen cabinet” of outside political advisers and a team of public relations officials who were often at adds with others in the company. ‘A spokeswoman for Facebook dismissed this characterization. “The fault lines that the authors depict between Mark and Sheryl and the people who work with them do not exist,” said Dani Lever, the spokeswoman. “All of Mark’s direct reports work closely with Sheryl and hers with Mark. Shery?s role at the company has not changed." It is true that the core of the partnership hasn't formally changed. Mr. Zuckerberg controls the direction of the company and Ms. ‘Sandberg the ad business, which continues to soar unabated. Both executives declined to comment for this story, pethaps letting the company’s performance speak for itself Facebook's market valuation is now over $1 trillion. The Beginning of an Unusual Pairing ‘A Christmas party is not an ideal place to avoid small talk, but Mr. Zuckerberg had arrived at the holiday gathering determined to try. It was December 2007, and Facebook was stil a private company with just several hundred employees. Despite his aversion to party chat, he allowed himself to be introduced to Sheryl Sandberg. From the moment they met, both have said, they sensed the potential to transform the company into the global power it is today. ‘As guests milled around them, he described his goal of turning every person in the country with an internet connection into a Facebook user. It might have sounded like a fantasy to others, but Ms. Sandberg was intrigued and threw out ideas about what it ‘would take to build a business to keep up with that kind of growth. “It was actually smart. It was substantive,” Mr. Zuckerberg later recalled. Ms. Sandberg would go on to tell Dan Rose, a former vice president at Facebook, that she felt she had been “put on this planet to scale organizations.” After the Christmas party, Mr. Zuckerberg and Ms. Sandberg continued their conversations over late dinners at Ms. Sandberg’s favorite neighborhood restaurant, Flea Street, and her pristine Atherton home. (Mr. Zuckerberg still ved in a Palo Alto apartment with only a futon on the floor) Ms. Sandberg walked Mr. Zuckerberg through how she had helped expand Google's ad business, turning search queries into data that gave advertisers rich insights about users, contributing to the company's spectacular cash flow. hitps lawn nytimes.com/202'07/08/businessimark-2uckerborg.shery-sandborg facebook him?action-click&module=WellSpglype-Homepage.... 2/10‘o9107/2021 ‘Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg's Partnership Did Not Survive Trump - The New York Times Ms. Sandberg and Mr Zuckerberg in Sun Valley ao, in 201. Her role ashis Secon in ‘command at Facebook became strained during the Temp er. Andro Gomber Europea Pression Agency In some ways, they were opposites. Ms. Sandberg was a master manager and delegator. Her calendar at Google was scheduled to the ‘minute. Meetings rarely ran long,and typically culminated in action items. At 38, she was 15 years older than Mr. Zuckerberg, was in bed by 9:30 p.m. and up every morning by 6 for a hard cardio workout. He was a night owl, coding way past midnight and up in time to straggle into the office late in the morning, Mr. Rose recalled being pulled into meetings at Il p.m, the middle of Mr. Zuckerberg’ workday. Mr. Zuckerberg recognized that Ms. Sandberg excelled at, even enjoyed, all the parts of running a company that he found unfulfiling. And she would bring to Facebook an asset that her new boss knew he needed: experience in Washington, D.C. Mr. Zuckerberg wasn't interested in politics and didn’t keep up with the news. The year before, while Mr. Zuckerberg was visiting Donald Graham, then the chairman of The Washington Post, a reporter handed the young C.E.O. a book on politics that the reporter had written. Mr. Zuckerberg, said to Mr. Graham, “I'm never going to have time to read this” “T teased him because there were very few things where you'll ind unanimity about, and one of those things is that reading books is a ‘good way to learn. There is no dissent on that point,” Mr. Graham said. “Mark eventually came to agree with me on that, and like everything he did, he picked it up very quickly and became a tremendous reader.” In the lead-up to his talks with Ms, Sandberg, Mr. Zuckerberg experienced a brush with controversy that stoked concerns about potential regulations. Government officials were beginning to question if free platforms like Facebook were harming users with the data they collected. In December 2007, the Federal Trade Commission issued self-regulatory principles for behavioral advertising to protect data privacy. Mr, Zuckerberg needed help navigating Washington. “Mark understood that some of the biggest challenges Facebook was going to face in the future were going to revolve around issues of privacy and regulatory concerns,” Mr. Rose said. Ms. Sandberg, he noted, “obviously had deep experience there, and this was very Important to Mark.” ‘To Ms. Sandberg, the move to Facebook, a company led by an awkward 23-year-old college dropout, wasn't as counterintuitive as it ‘might have appeared, She was a vice president at Google, but she had hit a ceiling: There were several vice presidents at her level, and they were all competing for promotions. Eric Schmiat, then the chief executive, wasnt looking for a No, 2. Men who weren't performing as well as she was were getting recognized and receiving higher titles, former Google colleagues maintained. “Despite leading a bigger, more profitable, faster-growing business than the men who were her peers, she was not given the title president, but they were,” recalled Kim Scott, a leader in the ad sales division. Ms. Sandberg was looking for something new. She said yes to Facebook. ‘Mr. Zuckerberg brought in Ms, Sandberg to deal with growing unease about the company in Washington. She professionalized the ragtag office there, which had been opened by a recent college graduate whose primary job was to help lawmakers set up their Facebook accounts. She represented Facebook as a member of President Barack Obama's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, along with other executives and labor union leaders. After one meeting of the council, she accompanied Mr. Obama on Air Force One 10 Facebook's headquarters, where the president held a public town hall to discuss the economy. But soon, there were cracks in the facade. In October 2010, she met with the EC, chairman, Jonathan Leibowitz, to try to quell a privacy investigation, In his office, a relaxed and confident Ms. Sandberg began the meeting with a claim that Facebook had given users more control over their data than any other internet company and that the company’s biggest regret was not communicating clearly how its privacy policy worked. tps wn nytimes.com/202107/08/businoss/mark zuckerberg-shory-sandberg facebook himPaction=click&modl i&patype-Homepage.... 3/10oaior2021 ‘Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg's Parinership Did Not Survive Trump - The New York Times The BTC. officials immediately challenged her, according to people who attended the meeting, Mr. Leibowitz noted that, on a personal level, he had watched his middle-school-age daughter struggle with the privacy settings on Facebook, which had automatically made it easier for strangers to find users like her. “I'm seeing it at home,” he said. “That's so great,” Ms. Sandberg responded. She went on to describe the social network as “empowering” for young users. Mr Leibowitz hadn't meant it as good news — and emphasized to her that the FT.C. was deeply concerned about privacy. Ms. Lever, the Facebook spokeswoman, described the meeting as “substantive,” with a detailed explanation of the company’s privacy policies, She added that the characterization of tension in the room “misrepresents what actually happened.” But to the people who were there, Ms. Sandberg seemed to be hearing only what she wanted to hear. An Oval Office Offering hitpstwwn.nytimes.com/202'07/08/businessimark-2uckerborg-shery-sandborg facebook him?action-click&module=WellSpglype-Homepage.... 4/10oaiori2021 ‘Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg's Partnership Did Not Survive Trump - The New York Times The executives made their way through the lobby of Trump Tower, past reporters elevators and up to meet with the president-elect, jouting questions they ignored, into the gold “Everybody in this room has to like me,’ President-elect Trump said to the group he had gathered there in December 2016. It included ‘Ms. Sandberg and the chief executives of Apple, Amazon, Google and Microsoft, hitps:twwn.nytimes.com/20207/08/businessimark-2uckerborg.shery-sandborg facebook htm?action-click&module=WellSpglype-Homepage.... 5/10oaior2021 ‘Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg's Parinership Did Not Survive Trump - The New York Times But Ms. Sandberg had made her preferences very clear: She did not like him, Infact, she was stil in shock and mourning for Hillary Clinton's defeat. She was a reliable and prominent Democratic bundler. She had served as chief of staff to Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers during the Clinton administration and her name had been floated for Treasury secretary in a potential Hillary Clinton administration, Now she was waylaid from her path back into polities, after eight years of stratospheric success as a feminist, con and business leader, ‘Moreover, her Democratic connections were of limited use in the newly elected administration. She called on Joel Kaplan, the company’s top Republican and vice president of global policy, whom she hired in May 2011. (Mr. Kaplan, who accompanied Ms. Sandberg to Trump Tower, stayed one day longer to interview with the Trump transition team for the position of director of the Office of Management and Budget. Facebook said he withdrew his candidacy before the meeting, but took the interview anyway.) ‘Mr. Kaplan, a former deputy chief of staf for President George W. Bush, had warned Ms. Sandberg and Mr, Zuckerberg that they had to repair relations with Republicans who resented their support for Democrats. Ms. Sandberg attended the Trump Tower meeting, seated two chairs tothe right of the president-elect and between Vice President Mike Pence and Larry Page, one of Google's founders, but barely spoke. The president-clect, who had sparred with many of the companies whose leaders he now addressed, and who would 0 on to complicate Facebook's policies on speech in ways company leaders did not yet comprehend, appeared to be in good spirits that day. You'll call my pegple, you'll call me. It doesn’t make any difference,” Mr. Trump said. “We have no formal chain of command over here.” Facebook did call him. But it was Mr. Zuckerberg who became the emissary to Washington, In the months and years after the 2016 election, Facebook confronted a number of challenges connected to the Trump presidency. The company investigated and dealt with fallout from the scope of Russian interference with the election on its platform. ‘Ms. Lever, the Facebook spokeswoman, noted that it was natural for Mr. Zuckerberg ta take on a larger role in dealing with speech and misinformation. Other tech leaders were also increasingly engaged on those issues. “These areas demanded more time, attention and focus, which both Mark and Sheryl have given them,” she said. At the same time, Mr. Zuckerberg and Ms, Sandberg continued to drift further apart, He was critical of her handling of public relations related to election interference and another scandal in March 2018, when it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm working for Mr. Trump, had used data harvested from Facebook users to target voters. Both were breaches that technically stemmed from his side of the business — products — but she was in charge of dealing with the public's anger over the episodes. One of her primary roles had been to charm Washington on Facebook’s behalf, and protect and burnish its image. Neither project was going particularly well. On the afternoon of Sept. 19, 2019, Mr. Zuckerberg slipped into the Oval Office for a meeting unrecorded in public schedules for the president, ‘Mr. Trump leaned forward, resting his elbows on the ornately carved 19th-century Resolute desk. As he boasted about the performance of the economy under his administration, a jumbo glass of Diet Coke collected condensation on a coaster in front of him. Mr. Zuckerberg sat on the other side of the desk, in a straight-back wooden chair wedged between Mr. Kaplan and Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser. Dan Scavino, the president’s director of social media, sat atthe end of the row. ‘Mr Zuckerberg had come with a gift. He told Mr. Trump that a team had run the numbers using proprietary internal data, and the president had the highest engagement of any politician on Facebook, according to people familiar with the discussion. Mr. Trump's personal account, with 28 million followers at that time, was a blowout success. The former reality show star was visibly pleased. Later in the day, Mr. Trump disclosed the meeting on Facebook and Twitter, posting a photo of the two men shaking hands, a wide smile on the C-E.0:s face. “Nice meeting with Mark Zuckerberg of @Facebook in the Oval Office today” read the caption ‘Mr. Zuckerberg’s introduction to Mr. Trump's White House had come through Mr: Kaplan and Peter Thiel, an early investor in Facebook and the tech industry's most vocal supporter of the president. Mr. Zuckerberg had first gotten to know Mr. Kushner, who graduated from Harvard the year Mr. Zuckerberg began. Before his Oval Office meeting, Mr. Zuckerberg scheduled an appointment with Mr. Kushner, who had! led digital media strategy for the Trump campaign. He wanted to deliver a compliment about the campaign, and told Mr. Kushner: “You were very good on Facebook” Not Sandberg’s Washington Anymore hitps:twwn.nytimes.com/202 07/08/businessimark-2uckerborg.shery-sandborg facebook htm?action=click&module=WellSpglype-Homepage.... 6/10