5 ms·

Meta’s Sheryl Sandberg Pressured Daily Mail to Drop Bobby Kotick Reporting

55 points by Vaslo 5y ago

danso 5y ago
I remember her husband (SurveyMonkey CEO Dave Goldberg) had died tragically, had never heard of her dating Kotick but apparently it was well-known [0]. While I’m sure it’s hard to find people in her circle who are also single — having to secretly squelch stories of your boyfriend’s abuse allegations should have been a dealbreaker [0] https://people.com/human-interest/sheryl-sandberg-bobby-kotick-split/ https://people.com/human-interest/sheryl-sandberg-bobby-koti...
- throwawaymanbot 5y ago
- danielmarkbruce 5y ago
  What if the stories are lies? There is an implication that the Daily Mail tells the truth. They've been successfully sued several times for... lying.
danso 5y ago
Some key grafs: > In 2016 and 2019, Ms. Sandberg contacted the digital edition of the Daily Mail, which was reporting on a story that would have revealed the existence of a temporary restraining order against Mr. Kotick that had been obtained by a former girlfriend in 2014, according to people involved in the article and the campaigns to stop its publication. > Working with a team that included Facebook and Activision employees as well as paid outside advisers, Ms. Sandberg and Mr. Kotick developed a strategy to persuade the Daily Mail not to report on the restraining order, first when they began dating in 2016 and again around the time they were breaking up in 2019, the people said. Among other concerns, Ms. Sandberg’s legal and public-relations advisers, both inside and outside Facebook, worried that a story would reflect negatively on her reputation as an advocate for women. > Facebook recently started a review of Ms. Sandberg’s actions and whether she violated the company’s rules, according to people close to her and to Mr. Kotick. The review started after The Wall Street Journal began reporting on the incidents late last year, those people said. > ...There are conflicting accounts about what Ms. Sandberg said and whether she directly invoked Facebook in her communications with the Mail. Mr. Kotick has told people that Ms. Sandberg threatened the Mail in 2016 by saying that such an article, if published, could damage the news organization’s business relationship with Facebook, according to people familiar with his comments. > ...People who worked closely with Ms. Sandberg at the time said a direct threat would have been out of character, but that even a phone call from her would have likely been viewed with alarm given Facebook’s influence in the news business. Some executives inside Facebook assert that any intervention by Ms. Sandberg over a news article, no matter her specific words, could well be perceived as a threat, given the social-media giant’s power over web traffic and Ms. Sandberg’s power and influence, according to people with knowledge of these incidents.*
- sidewndr46 5y ago
  For those not in the know: Sheryl Sandberg dated Bobby Kotick?
  - rnk 5y ago
    It does not serve any good for facebook that she threatened their business connections to the daily mail unless they bury the story. That is the absolute worst behavior. Wealthy people owning the news media is terrible, wealthy people manipulating the news media is unacceptable - and I'm sure it happens though. Gee, what other major media source might be negatively influenced if another touchy billionaire buys it?
    - danielmarkbruce 5y ago
      "their business connections" - there is no reason to think it wasn't her connections. She is a human with relationships with people at companies. She's been around the block a couple times. Her calling a few friends and having them call to bury a bad story about someone's private life (and the story is likely a lie, given who is publishing it) is something many reasonable people would do for their significant other.
    - pstuart 5y ago
      Oh but that touchy billionaire is a "free speech absolutist" so he'll welcome more flight tracking and criticism of him.
      - rnk 5y ago
        Anyone who pays attention knows free speech doesn't apply to criticism of him. I'm sure it's terrible being constantly criticized everywhere, half of it is probably completely crazy bs. But there's a reason we try to avoid having dictators make all decisions.
- TechBro8615 5y ago
  I don’t understand what anyone in this situation did wrong, morally or legally or otherwise. I also don’t understand why I should care about some corporatist boardroom intrigue. Can someone explain? Also, why have I seen ~5 articles on this same topic (all posted to HN)? It smells like a coordinated hit piece.
anonymousiam 5y ago
There's also this: https://www.dailybreeze.com/2022/04/13/california-lawyer-quits-over-allegation-newsom-meddled-in-activision-case/ https://www.dailybreeze.com/2022/04/13/california-lawyer-qui... Apparently Bobby Kotick has friends in high places.

55 points by Vaslo 5y ago

I remember her husband (SurveyMonkey CEO Dave Goldberg) had died tragically, had never heard of her dating Kotick but apparently it was well-known [0]. While I’m sure it’s hard to find people in her circle who are also single — having to secretly squelch stories of your boyfriend’s abuse allegations should have been a dealbreaker [0] https://people.com/human-interest/sheryl-sandberg-bobby-kotick-split/ https://people.com/human-interest/sheryl-sandberg-bobby-koti...

throwawaymanbot 5y ago
danielmarkbruce 5y ago
What if the stories are lies? There is an implication that the Daily Mail tells the truth. They've been successfully sued several times for... lying.

danso 5y ago

Some key grafs: > In 2016 and 2019, Ms. Sandberg contacted the digital edition of the Daily Mail, which was reporting on a story that would have revealed the existence of a temporary restraining order against Mr. Kotick that had been obtained by a former girlfriend in 2014, according to people involved in the article and the campaigns to stop its publication. > Working with a team that included Facebook and Activision employees as well as paid outside advisers, Ms. Sandberg and Mr. Kotick developed a strategy to persuade the Daily Mail not to report on the restraining order, first when they began dating in 2016 and again around the time they were breaking up in 2019, the people said. Among other concerns, Ms. Sandberg’s legal and public-relations advisers, both inside and outside Facebook, worried that a story would reflect negatively on her reputation as an advocate for women. > Facebook recently started a review of Ms. Sandberg’s actions and whether she violated the company’s rules, according to people close to her and to Mr. Kotick. The review started after The Wall Street Journal began reporting on the incidents late last year, those people said. > ...There are conflicting accounts about what Ms. Sandberg said and whether she directly invoked Facebook in her communications with the Mail. Mr. Kotick has told people that Ms. Sandberg threatened the Mail in 2016 by saying that such an article, if published, could damage the news organization’s business relationship with Facebook, according to people familiar with his comments. > ...People who worked closely with Ms. Sandberg at the time said a direct threat would have been out of character, but that even a phone call from her would have likely been viewed with alarm given Facebook’s influence in the news business. Some executives inside Facebook assert that any intervention by Ms. Sandberg over a news article, no matter her specific words, could well be perceived as a threat, given the social-media giant’s power over web traffic and Ms. Sandberg’s power and influence, according to people with knowledge of these incidents.*

sidewndr46 5y ago
For those not in the know: Sheryl Sandberg dated Bobby Kotick?
- rnk 5y ago
  It does not serve any good for facebook that she threatened their business connections to the daily mail unless they bury the story. That is the absolute worst behavior. Wealthy people owning the news media is terrible, wealthy people manipulating the news media is unacceptable - and I'm sure it happens though. Gee, what other major media source might be negatively influenced if another touchy billionaire buys it?
  - danielmarkbruce 5y ago
    "their business connections" - there is no reason to think it wasn't her connections. She is a human with relationships with people at companies. She's been around the block a couple times. Her calling a few friends and having them call to bury a bad story about someone's private life (and the story is likely a lie, given who is publishing it) is something many reasonable people would do for their significant other.
  - pstuart 5y ago
    Oh but that touchy billionaire is a "free speech absolutist" so he'll welcome more flight tracking and criticism of him.
    - rnk 5y ago
      Anyone who pays attention knows free speech doesn't apply to criticism of him. I'm sure it's terrible being constantly criticized everywhere, half of it is probably completely crazy bs. But there's a reason we try to avoid having dictators make all decisions.
TechBro8615 5y ago
I don’t understand what anyone in this situation did wrong, morally or legally or otherwise. I also don’t understand why I should care about some corporatist boardroom intrigue. Can someone explain? Also, why have I seen ~5 articles on this same topic (all posted to HN)? It smells like a coordinated hit piece.

anonymousiam 5y ago

There's also this: https://www.dailybreeze.com/2022/04/13/california-lawyer-quits-over-allegation-newsom-meddled-in-activision-case/ https://www.dailybreeze.com/2022/04/13/california-lawyer-qui... Apparently Bobby Kotick has friends in high places.