[taylodl]

Many commenters here have pointed out this is the norm. I'll also point out that most companies fail, and many of the ones that don't fail are despised by their customers/users. What can we say of the companies that succeed and aren't despised? They typically don't do shit like this.

The other problem with thinking "this is what everybody does" is there's the unstated "so keep your mouth shut and just go along with it" that's really unhealthy for us all. If you work for Facebook and you think this is the norm then you're not going to be inclined to question this behavior and if you really think it's universal then you may not even be inclined to leave. Thus the problem perpetuates itself.

If you ever find yourself working for one of this hell hole companies then leave. Don't buy into the false narrative that this is normal, it's the same everywhere, keep your mouth shut and don't rock the boat. You'll come to realize the money doesn't make up for what's been done to your mental health and the quality of your life.

[tyleo]

Wholeheartedly agree. This is not the norm at a couple multi-billion dollar companies where I've worked and I would leave if it were. If you are doing this you are making the world a worse place. Do not do this. Do not accept this. Find purpose in the world and strive to add to it rather than take away.

[relaxing]

How do you know?

[wutbrodo]

> The other problem with thinking "this is what everybody does" is there's the unstated "so keep your mouth shut and just go along with it" that's really unhealthy for us all.

I agree with you that most people have status quo bias making up the majority of their moral compass. But I disagree with your defense of isolated demands for ethical behavior, which are dangerous and counterproductive.

First off, they cheapen principle by making it a conditional bludgeon, used to attack only unpopular entities. Participating in the lie that FB is doing something uncommonly nefarious implicitly shields every other actor that (eg) HN doesn't feel such obsessive hate for.

Secondly, it provides a scapegoat so people can ignore the difficult work of actually addressing systemic rot. If this is a widely-used tactic, and we agree that it's harmful, then perhaps there's a structural issue to be addressed. You can't even have this conversation if everyone thinks it's just something uniquely evil that FB did.

This was my problem with the way my social milieu handled Trump. I think the guy was a dangerous lunatic, but my friends/family's tendency to immediately assign all of the world's ills solely to him (kids in cages! 100s of ks of covid deaths!) gave them an excuse to ignore the systemic rot underlying society's actual problems (borders inherently rob people of their humanity, and our public health agencies have severe cultural issues).

It's not "defending the bad guy" to say that turning them into the literal Devil, solely responsible for all evil, is harmfully letting others off the hook.

[vkou]

> If you work for Facebook and you think this is the norm then you're not going to be inclined to question this behavior

If Facebook is anything like the typical SV mega-corp, the rank and file questions this kind of behaviour. A lot.

But as the saying goes, a dog barks, the wind carries it away.

The politicians at the head of the firm don't care about what their workers think about political matters. [1]

[1] And would like everyone who isn't them to stop being political. #nopolitics, and all that jazz. We're just trying to do work here, not get involved in an unsanctioned-from-corporate culture war...

[alphabetting]

What is "unhealthy" about telling public TikTok is a danger?

[kwertyoowiyop]

If Facebook wants to say that, they should say it themselves, not hide behind a fake grassroots campaign. That is “unhealthy.”

[prewett]

"Inauthentic", even

[thinkyfish]

Facebook has no motivation to make true accusations against TikTok. There may be legitimate criticisms that can be made, but facebook doesn't have a reason to care, and being tasked with making those criticisms in an environment where anything that sticks is rewarded, regardless of the truth, will have their honesty and truthfulness compromised, and will be encouraged to view that as normal, compromising their wisdom.

[disgruntledphd2]

I spent five years at Facebook, and it was probably the best place I've ever worked.

The people were fantastic (except a the ex G and Amazon folks who were a lot less fun to work with), the problems were fun and the culture and tools were phenomenal.

Granted, I don't agree with what they're doing in this article, but if you think they're the only big tech company that does this, I have a bunch of bridges to sell you ;)

Generally, large, publicly traded companies tend to behave like psychopaths, but personally I think FB held out a lot longer than most.

[Woberto]

Can I ask what kind of problems you enjoyed working on there?

[disgruntledphd2]

Honestly, fixing ads related data science problems gave me a lot of satisfaction. I fully admit to being a weirdo, though.