Behind the Mask of Facebook; A Whistleblower's Shocking Story of Big Tech Bias and Censorship

301 Pages·2021·7.938 MB·English

by  Ryan Hartwig

Copyright © 2021 by Ryan Hartwig and Kent Heckenlively, JD
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the
express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical
reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West
36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.
Skyhorse Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales
promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also
be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Skyhorse
Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or
[email protected].
Skyhorse® and Skyhorse Publishing® are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing,
Inc.®, a Delaware corporation.
Visit our website at www.skyhorsepublishing.com.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.
Cover design by Carissa Eich
Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-6794-2
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-6795-9
Printed in the United States of America
“There is no swifter route to the corruption of thought than the corruption of
language.”
—George Orwell
This book is dedicated to the millions of Americans whose voices
were silenced by Big Tech during the 2020 US election. It is also
dedicated to the billions of people throughout the world who feel the
oppressive influence of Big Tech in their respective countries.
Contents
Foreword
Prologue: An Unusual Job Interview
CHAPTER ONE: Getting the Job and Leaving the Nest
CHAPTER TWO: Finding My Groove as a Content Moderator
CHAPTER THREE: A Day in the Life of a Content Moderator
CHAPTER FOUR: A Tale of Two Whistleblowers
CHAPTER FIVE: Greta Thunberg—The Press Can Call Her Joan of Arc,
but You Can’t Criticize Her
CHAPTER SIX: From Canada to Colombia, Facebook’s Interference in
Global Elections
CHAPTER SEVEN: Can You Love Your Country without Being a Racist?
CHAPTER EIGHT: Orange Man Bad: Facebook’s Guidance to Content
Moderators about Trump Statements
CHAPTER NINE: Trumphumpers and Feminazis: Facebook’s Slanted
Approach to Bullying
CHAPTER TEN: Facebook in Black and White
CHAPTER ELEVEN: Facebook’s Treatment of Antifa, Police Officers, and
Drug Cartels
Photo Insert
CHAPTER TWELVE: Kaitlin Bennett, the AR-15 Girl
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Newsworthy Exceptions: How Facebook Gives
Exceptions to Its Policies, Including Hate Speech, When It Suits Them
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: How Facebook Deals with Abortion and the Pro-
Choice Movement
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Civil War and Boogaloo: What Facebook “Puts in
Place” to Prevent Harm
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: The Fire Brigade: How Facebook Prevents Public
Relations Disasters and Shields Accounts from Deletion
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: The Future of Censorship: Section 230 and the
Communication Decency Act
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: The Civic Audit of Facebook by John Kyl and
Covington Law
CHAPTER NINETEEN: Human Resources from Hell: Punishment for
Exercising My First-Amendment Rights
CHAPTER TWENTY: Preparing for the Main Event
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: Project Veritas Goes Live
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: The Media Merry-Go-Round
Epilogue: Election Day Problems and Final Thoughts
Appendix A: Transcripts That Didn’t Make the Final Cut
Acknowledgments
Endnotes
Foreword
As a former business executive in leadership positions in various Fortune
500 companies for the last twenty-five years, I have come to appreciate
former employees who have blown the whistle and exposed fraud and
corruption, sometimes at great personal expense.
After learning about Ryan Hartwig and his decision to go public, I
recognized in Ryan some of those same attributes I’ve seen in other
whistleblowers: courage, resilience, and honor.
Ryan was, for all intents and purposes, a low-level employee working
for Cognizant, contracted to do Facebook’s content moderation. But the
magnitude of what he uncovered will have repercussions for Big Tech and
the censorship debate for years to come.
What I appreciate about Ryan’s book is how he sticks with the facts, and
his thorough analysis leaves little to speculation. You’ll see within this
book, in black and white, Facebook’s own decisions with regard to content.
Whether it’s protecting Greta Thunberg or making newsworthy exceptions
to allow Don Lemon’s hate speech, it’s clear Facebook broke their own
rules, time and time again. We no longer have to rely on scripted answers
during Senate hearings where Big Tech executives say they’ll get back to us.
We already know what Facebook did because it’s written in this book.
Facebook censored political speech and targeted conservative speech.
Ten years from now, it could be leftist speech that is being singled out,
which is why this issue is so important. We need to protect free speech for
everyone. Facebook has incredible power, and this influence has gone
unchecked, gradually consuming more and more control. They have become
a de facto government and can exert their influence within any aspect of our
lives, including elections and healthcare.
Ryan delves into these issues, asking important questions about why
Facebook has assumed the authority to monitor our elections. He also asks
the same question about foreign elections and the amount of influence
Facebook has internationally. Facebook can single-handedly influence an
election or allow its tools to be manipulated by dictators and AI bots intent
on crushing the political competition through propaganda and smears.
Regardless of your political persuasion, this book takes us deep into the
inner sanctum of Facebook’s policy decisions. We all know Facebook