Speak to the New York Times and get fired.
That’s one of the things CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly told Facebook employees around the world during an hourlong video conference on Friday. Ironically, news of the video conference was leaked to the Times itself. Zuckerberg held the video conference in order to let employees ask questions about the company and to boost morale, but he also made it clear that Facebook would fire employees caught leaking to the press.
Facebook has been embroiled in scandal after scandal in the past 18 months. Most recently, the New York Times exposed that the company hired the Washington, D.C., consulting firm Definers Public Affairs, to seed opposition research to journalists about anti-Facebook groups and members of the media. The firm also tried to link funding of such groups to liberal financier George Soros.
When an employee asked what happens to Facebook employees who are found leaking to the press, Zuckerberg reportedly made it clear that he would fire any employee who spoke to the New York Times or other publications before explaining that leaks are generally caused by “issues with morale.”
For what it’s worth, Facebook isn’t alone in telling employees it will fire people who leak information. Apple has said something similar. So much for morale in the tech industry, I guess.
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