London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, May 31, 2025

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.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
U.S. Goods Imports Plunge Nearly 20% Amid Tariff Disruptions
OpenAI Faces Competition from Cheaper AI Rivals
Foreign Tax Provision in U.S. Budget Bill Alarms Investors
Trump Accuses China of Violating Trade Agreement
Gerry Adams Wins Libel Case Against BBC
Russia Accuses Serbia of Supplying Arms to Ukraine
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
Chinese Woman Dies After Being Forced to Visit Bank Despite Critical Illness
President Trump Grants Full Pardons to Reality TV Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley
Texas Enacts App Store Accountability Act Mandating Age Verification
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Vatican Calls for Sustainable Tourism in 2025 Message
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Trump Threatens 25% Tariff on iPhones Amid Dispute with Apple CEO
Putin's Helicopter Reportedly Targeted by Ukrainian Drones
Liverpool Car Ramming Incident Leaves Multiple Injured
Australia Faces Immigration Debate Following Labor Party Victory
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
Macron Dismisses Viral Video of Wife's Gesture as Playful Banter
Cleveland Clinic Study Questions Effectiveness of Recent Flu Vaccine
Netanyahu Accuses Starmer of Siding with Hamas
Junior Doctors Threaten Strike Over 4% Pay Offer
Labour MPs Urge Chancellor to Tax Wealthy Over Cutting Welfare
Publication of UK Child Poverty Strategy Delayed Until Autumn
France Detains UK Fishing Vessel Amid Post-Brexit Tensions
Calls Grow to Resume Syrian Asylum Claims in UK
Nigel Farage Pledges to Reinstate Winter Fuel Payments
Boris and Carrie Johnson Welcome Daughter Poppy
×