Background:
The Facebook Papers make clear that the company’s algorithms don’t just shape user behavior—they profit from outrage, weaken journalism, and spread misinformation. Tony Haile describes Facebook’s role as a “gravitational force” in media, pulling distribution and curation away from publishers and toward itself. The result is a business model that puts shareholder growth above democratic health.
Would I work there?
On paper, a role at Facebook is incredibly attractive—compensation, prestige, and access to brilliant people. But I can’t ignore what The Facebook Papers revealed. Facebook has built its model around maximizing engagement at almost any cost. Section 5.2 reminds us that pretending not to see the conflict is one strategy: “lying to yourself” because the paycheck justifies it. I can see why many people do that, but for me, the cost would be too high. I don’t think I could sit in the office every day knowing my work—no matter how small—was helping power an engine I believe undermines democratic discourse.
That said, I don’t think the choice is completely black and white. If I had the chance to work on privacy, safety, or product integrity, I might take it. Section 5.2 argues that distance matters: how close does the stink get to your office? A role focused on cleaning up harmful systems would feel different than one designing new engagement features. In addition to that, companies are set up to earn money, and Facebook’s algorithms to maximize user’s time usage is not completely unethical. Users are also enjoying happiness in the process of looking at interested contents for them, and misinformation can also be apread without Facebook. Although the filter bubble behind algorithm can make the users see extreme stances more often, it is still the user’s human judgement that is required. I have seen some false videos and information on Facebook before, but I feel like some of them are obviously fake and for entertainment purposes by the end of the day.
Ultimately, I wouldn’t accept a “dream” job at Facebook if it meant aligning myself with what I believe is fundamentally wrong. I’d rather build my résumé elsewhere, even if it takes longer. For me, the line isn’t whether a company is perfect—none are—but whether the harm is central to its mission.
