This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "Careless People" by Sarah Wynn-Williams. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.
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What controversy did the book Careless People cause? What was the public reception of the book?
In Careless People, Sarah Wynn-Williams—Facebook’s Director of Global Policy from 2011-2017—offers an insider account of her time working alongside Facebook leaders. As expected, the tell-all book stirred up a mixture of reactions.
Here’s a look at why the book caused discontent among some.
What Is Careless People About?
In Careless People, Sarah Wynn-Williams recounts her time as Director of Global Public Policy at Facebook, where she worked closely with Mark Zuckerberg and other executives from 2011-2017. Through a series of vignettes that chronicle her seven years there, she shares her critical perspective on the character and conduct of these leaders.
Wynn-Williams joined Facebook because she believed in its potential to connect people and improve the world. But over time, she came to the conclusion that Zuckerberg and company were reckless, uncaring, and corrupt. They consistently put business and personal interests before responsibility or accountability. And because of this, she says, Facebook became a source of harm in the world. It influenced the outcome of the 2016 US presidential election, enabled political corruption and genocide in Myanmar, and tailored its tech to the authoritarian interests of the Chinese Communist Party.
Wynn-Williams is a former diplomat and lawyer from New Zealand who has worked for the New Zealand government, the United Nations, and Facebook (now Meta). In the book, she shares claims about Facebook’s leadership, the harm they’ve caused, and the lessons we need to learn to shape a better future for Big Tech.
The Book’s Controversy
Now, let’s take a look at the Careless People controversy. After its publication in March 2025, Careless People drew a wide variety of reactions. Reader reception has largely been positive, with the book debuting at the top of New York Times best-seller list and becoming an Amazon bestseller soon after. Meanwhile, critics note that the book doesn’t handle much of anything new, but is valuable for the unique perspective it brings to familiar events. And because Wynn-Williams’ account aligns with others—like Frances Haugen’s 2021 whistleblower reveal of The Facebook Files—her credibility hasn’t come under fire from news outlets.
Meta, however, has been sharply critical of the book and attempted to shut down its publication with an emergency arbitration hearing. They won that hearing, with the arbitrator ruling that Wynn-Williams had violated a nondisparagement agreement she’d signed when leaving Facebook in 2017. She was barred from promoting the book. Its publisher, Macmillan, stated it would ignore the arbitrator’s ruling. Meta has also released a PDF titled “Careless Reprint” in which they dispute Wynn-Williams’ main claims as old news. Others, including former Facebook staffers, say that Wynn-Williams’ stories are often inaccurate or misleading, and that she glosses over her own complicity in the company’s actions.
Regardless of its reception, Careless People has become part of a now substantial body of work about Facebook and its leadership. Wynn-Williams’ whistleblowing follows in the footsteps of other former staffers who’ve turned critic on the company. Notable among them are former Facebook investor Roger McNamee (Zucked), Sheera Frankl and Cecilia Kang (An Ugly Truth), and Whatsapp cofounder Brian Acton, who’s called for users to delete Facebook. What distinguishes Careless People from earlier accounts is Wynn-Williams’ specific focus on Facebook’s global policy operations during a period of rapid international expansion, particularly concerning its relationship with China and its reckless handling of the harms the platform has caused.
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Like what you just read? Read the rest of the world's best book summary and analysis of Sarah Wynn-Williams's "Careless People" at Shortform.
Here's what you'll find in our full Careless People summary:
- Sarah Wynn-Williams' account of her time as Facebook's Director of Global Policy
- A tell-all that alleges that Facebook’s top leaders were dangerously reckless
- The role Facebook played in the 2016 US presidential election
