London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Facebook Whistleblower Says Rejected $64k Severance to Be Able to Denounce Company

Facebook Whistleblower Says Rejected $64k Severance to Be Able to Denounce Company

Facebook has seen a lot of backlash in various fields recently, particularly in relation to the platform allegedly allowing the spread of misinformation about coronavirus vaccines - with even the Biden administration joining the choir of critics.

An ex-data scientist who worked for Facebook said in a memo obtained by BuzzFeed News that she rejected a $64,000 severance package from the social media company to be able to ignore a non-disparagement clause, and roll out some revelations about the platform and her job experience.

In the memo, and in an interview with MIT Technology Review, Sophie Zhang, who worked as part of the 'fake engagement' management team, claimed that Facebook did little to address election interference and was involved in political manipulation.

“There was so much violating behavior worldwide that it was left to my personal assessment of which cases to further investigate, to file tasks, and escalate for prioritization afterwards,” she wrote in the memo, according to BuzzFeed News, saying that she often felt responsible for civil unrest breaking out in places she did not prioritize for action. "I have made countless decisions in this vein – from Iraq to Indonesia, from Italy to El Salvador. Individually, the impact was likely small in each case, but the world is a vast place.”

Breaking down multiple occasions when she allegedly faced the company's failure to address fake accounts, misinformation, and manipulation in different countries like India, Ukraine, Bolivia, Spain, and Brazil, Zhang revealed that she was distressed by the experience, going through a "physical and mental decline" in autumn 2019.

“In the three years I’ve spent at Facebook, I’ve found multiple blatant attempts by foreign national governments to abuse our platform on vast scales to mislead their own citizenry, and caused international news on multiple occasions,” she wrote in the memo.

In this April 10, 2018, file photo Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg looks down as a break is called during his testimony before a joint hearing of the Commerce and Judiciary Committees on Capitol Hill in Washington.


After being fired from Facebook over "poor performance", she posted her memo internally during her last day at work. Facebook reportedly deleted it, but then restored access following outrage from employees.

"I know that I have blood on my hands by now," Zhang wrote in her memo. “[...] I consider myself to have been put in an impossible spot – caught between my loyalties to the company and my loyalties to the world as a whole."

According to MIT Technology Review, Facebook denied her claims and insisted that the 'fake engagement' continued her work.

"In 2016, we and those in the government and media did not fully recognize the nature and scope of foreign interference in our elections," a Facebook spokesperson said earlier, cited by The Business Insider. "Since 2017, we have removed over 150 covert influence operations originating in more than 50 counties, and a dedicated investigative team continues to vigilantly protect democracy on our platform both here and abroad."

Facebook in Hot Water


This is not the first time Facebook has faced criticism over its content policy. While earlier it was about election interference allegations and private user data, the latest backlash comes in regard to misinformation about coronavirus vaccines.

With the Biden administration voicing concerns about the spread of "false information" about vaccines across Facebook, and the president himself suggesting that Facebook is "killing people", activist groups carried out a performance with body bags in front of Facebook's HQ in Washington DC earlier in the week, saying that "disinfo kills".

Activists' efforts and the concerns of political figures come as the social media company consistently denies accusations of failing to address the spread of misleading information.

As Facebook deals with the pressure, a poll by PEW Research Center released earlier in July revealed that more than half of US citizens - some 56% adults - think that big tech and social media platforms should be "regulated more than they are now".

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×