How Watermelon Cupcakes Caused an Internal Storm at Meta
Williams explained in her note that “‘Prayers for…’ any location where war is taking place may be removed, but prayers for those affected by natural disasters, for example, may remain in place.” She continued, “We know people may disagree with this approach, but it is one of the trade-offs we have made to ensure we maintain an effective workplace for everybody“ .
Pain and suffering
Meanwhile, Arab and Muslim workers expressed frustration that last month’s World Refugee Week celebration inside Meta included talks about human rights projects and refugee experiences, and lunches featuring Ukrainian and Syrian food, but no mention of Palestinians. (WIRED reviewed the internal schedule for that week.)
They did equally disappointed that Meta’s Oversight Board, which advises on content policy, written in Hebrew, but not Arabicto gather public opinion on Palestinian human rights expression “from river to sea,” including whether it was anti-Semitic. A spokesperson for the Oversight Board did not respond to a request for comment.
Workers also remain frustrated that Meta has not responded to their demands since December to remove the Instagram accounts of anti-hate watchdog groups like Canary Mission And Stop Anti-Semitism has humiliated Palestinian supporters in alleged violations ground rules anti-bullying. PWG leaders met with Meta executives, including Nick Clegg, president of global affairs, who pledged to maintain dialogue with workers. But the accounts remained active, and Canary Mission and StopAntisemitism each gained about 15,000 followers since the demands were drafted.
Seeing it as a sign of the uphill battle they face, staff have recently come to grips with a picture An Instagram post shows Nicola Mendelsohn, head of Meta’s global business group, posing next to Liora Rez, founder and CEO of StopAntisemitism. Rez told WIRED that her group does not hesitate to call out individuals with anti-Semitic views and warn their employers, but declined to comment further. Canary Mission said in an unsigned statement that “accountability” is needed when it comes to anti-Semitism.
The controversy over Meta’s response to discussions about Gaza has had ripple effects. In May, Meta’s internal community team shut down several planned Memorial Day celebrations honoring veterans at the company. An employee asked for clarification on an internal forum with more than 11,000 members, and received a response from Meta’s chief technology officer, Andrew Bosworth, who wrote that the polarizing discussions about “unrecognized areas or territories” in part required a rethink of how the company plans and monitors all types of activities.
While honoring veterans is “apolitical,” Bosworth wrote in the post, which WIRED viewed, CEE rules need to be applied consistently to survive under labor law. “There are groups that are passionately looking for an excuse to undermine our company policies,” he wrote.
Some Arab and Muslim workers felt Bosworth’s comments were directed at them. “I don’t want to work anywhere that actively discriminates against my community,” said one Meta worker who was close to quitting. “I’m sick of working for this company.”
Meta has not loosened its enforcement of CEE in recent weeks. Employees are still barred from holding internal vigils. So they plan to gather near the company’s New York and San Francisco offices tonight to remember colleagues who lost family to the war in Gaza, according to the Meta4employees Instagram account and two sources. They’re curious to see how hard, if any, the company will try to block the public-invited memorial.
Ashraf Zeitoon, who headed Facebook’s Middle East and North Africa policy from 2014 to 2017 and still advises many Arab employees at Meta, said discontent among those employees has spiked. He used to push longtime employees to leave when they felt frustrated; now he has to convince new hires to stay long enough to give the company a chance to grow.
Zeitoon said the “unprecedented level of restrictions and enforcement” had been “extremely painful and distressing for them.” It seems the emotions Meta was trying to avoid by avoiding talking about war in the workplace cannot be so easily suppressed.
