> I don’t think that’s true and I don’t think that’s fair. Facebook at its core is a sharing service. We are not sweeping up data. People are inputting data. People are sharing data with Facebook.
-- https://www.marketwatch.com/Story/facebook-coo-sheryl-sandbe...
Where have I heard the word "sharing" before? If they accomplish nothing else, these companies will have killed a word that used to mean an act of generosity.
This sums up my general reaction that has been built up over time with how things have been handled. I'm sure that Zuckerberg is playing the PR route sometimes, but more often than not, my suspicion is that it's more about incompetence and cringe-worthy cluelessness than anything else.
The Facebook offices I've seen are filled with posters and messages that are more inclusive and respectful across different cultures and minorities. While there, it felt like I was looking at my own Facebook news feed. But compare that with other family member's feeds and their world is vastly different. Filled with fear about minorities, making false claims about history, countries, events, and medicine, and blatant lies that are obviously aimed at aggregating power to a select few. When the idea of fake news and Russian interference surfaced, the general reaction from Zuckerberg came across "lol - wat? That's not even a thing." There's been enough data points since then that shows his incompetence, be it deliberately lying or being completely clueless. For me, I've hit a point where trust is broken. Not just with leadership, but with the platform in general.
Most cults use positive imagery to keep the flock drinking the kool-aid. All these posters indicate is Facebook's desire to keep their developers believing that they're working for some kind of altruistic company looking to "improve the world".