An Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook’s Battle for Domination

Written by Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia Kang

Narrated by Sheera Frenkel, Cecilia Kang and Holter Graham

“The ultimate takedown.” – New York Times Book Review

Award-winning New York Times reporters Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia Kang unveil the tech story of our times in a riveting, behind-the-scenes exposé that offers the definitive account of Facebook’s fall from grace. 

Once one of Silicon Valley’s greatest success stories, Facebook has been under constant fire for the past five years, roiled by controversies and crises. It turns out that while the tech giant was connecting the world, they were also mishandling users’ data, spreading fake news, and amplifying dangerous, polarizing hate speech.

The company, many said, had simply lost its way. But the truth is far more complex. Leadership decisions enabled, and then attempted to deflect attention from, the crises. Time after time, Facebook’s engineers were instructed to create tools that encouraged people to spend as much time on the platform as possible, even as those same tools boosted inflammatory rhetoric, conspiracy theories, and partisan filter bubbles. And while consumers and lawmakers focused their outrage on privacy breaches and misinformation, Facebook solidified its role as the world’s most voracious data-mining machine, posting record profits, and shoring up its dominance via aggressive lobbying efforts.

Drawing on their unrivaled sources, Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia Kang take readers inside the complex court politics, alliances and rivalries within the company to shine a light on the fatal cracks in the architecture of the tech behemoth. Their explosive, exclusive reporting led them to a shocking conclusion: The missteps of the last five years were not an anomaly but an inevitability—this is how Facebook was built to perform. In a period of great upheaval, growth has remained the one constant under the leadership of Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg. Both have been held up as archetypes of uniquely 21st century executives—he the tech “boy genius” turned billionaire, she the ultimate woman in business, an inspiration to millions through her books and speeches. But sealed off in tight circles of advisers and hobbled by their own ambition and hubris, each has stood by as their technology is coopted by hate-mongers, criminals and corrupt political regimes across the globe, with devastating consequences. In An Ugly Truth, they are at last held accountable. 

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Jul 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9780062960696

Sheera Frenkel

Sheera Frenkel escribe sobre ciberseguridad en The New York Times. Fue corresponsal durante más de diez años en Oriente Medio y ha trabajado para medios como BuzzFeed, NPR y el London Times.

Reviews for An Ugly Truth

[Mateo Mower · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

It was interesting to see someone diving deeper into the concerns that big tech represent our society.
However, I feel that their coverage did little to address the institutional bias that exists a cross the board with mainstream news and big tech. The authors seemed to buy in hook, line and sinker into the left-wing narratives.

[Schober Family · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

It was an interesting book, the history, management, stance on privacy, etc. However, I’m not pro-Trump, but the book turned into a Trump slam at the end which really took away from it. It felt like the the author was ranting their political opinion instead of keeping with the theme of the book.

[Chris Damien · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Riveting. This is a great book on how Facebook helped caused the misinformation that we see now.

[vladimiro sousa · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Nothing surprising new. Still is different to suspect something and know it supported in facts. Facebook is a business, a soulless one. And it feeds of emotions because that makes likes and posts.
I will be more conscient of my information and the way I’m sharing it.

[Munga01 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow!! The books definitely makes you wonder if Facebook was to be an entertainment streaming platform for movies and alike, how bad could it be as far as binge watching and addictiveness it could bring. But then again, there is still time, who knows ,right??

[Asobasi Gerald · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My first audiobook, and probably much more insightful than anything I've ever read in the past 20 years. I highly recommend it to anybody trying to understand Facebook and tech businesses in general. Especially free to use Ad monetized services.

[l ekelund · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I will never look at fb in the same way again. No turning back.

[marcello_324836275 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Ugly Truth is a perfect title for a history of this social experiment. The truth is that social media started out with great idealism but turned into a Frankenstein monster fueled by greed and lust for power.

[taimur · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Definitely insightful in terms of providing a picture of the mindset the individuals have in big tech

[Marcelino Decena · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The company, many said, had simply lost its way. But the truth is far more complex.

[Arnis · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great summary of investigative journalism in what makes facebook tick. Brings together several issues one has heard throughout various news and theories.

[forhad ekbal · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Loved this look back on Ron and Clint Howard's careers, families, and lives.

Warm, honest, and nostalgic. A great memoir! https://fe-educate.blogspot.com/2022/09/15-Facts-you-didnt-know-about-apple.html

[dandiercks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Actor/director/producer Ron[ny] Howard and his actor brother Clint alternate as memoirists in this enjoyable book about one of Hollywood’s most wholesome families. All four Howards, the boys and their parents, were actors their entire adult lives. Ron, of course, has become one of Hollywood’s most respected directors. In addition, he is known as one of Hollywood’s genuine nice guys. There is a lot of behind the scenes story telling here, and some technical talk compliments of Ron as he transitioned from child actor on the Andy Griffith Show to his role behind the camera. All in all, the book is enjoyable and stays away from the typical tell all scandal sheets we so often read after a celebrity has decided to write a memoir. The closest to that is brother Clint’s admission that for a decade he was addicted to alcohol and drugs, an addiction he has long since beaten.

[Elias · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Driving from work to home and home to work, this book kept me enthralled the entire way. Excellent writing and captivating audio. I truly enjoyed the thorough research. Great job.

[Joy Cichewicz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Though we saw the affects of FBs actions or lack of, we didn’t understand why. The book offers details into what happened and those involved in the decisions that precipitated the false messages and privacy issues. A must read.

[susan.macura · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a well researched and comprehensive look at the presidential election of 2016 and the role Russia played in it. While watching the news every day has provided me with a great deal of insights into this topic, reading books such as Miller's helps put it all together. There is no question in my mind that Russia used a variety of methods to disrupt out electoral process and to put Donald Trump in the White House to benefit themselves. We are in a frightening time in our country's history and those who choose to bury their heads in the sand need to sit down and read a book as this one to truly understand why there needs to be some major changes, especially a new president in 2020.

[Meris Vehabovic · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Honestly a really nice and detailed book, could even say that it's too detailed in some parts for example the Myanmar one. In general a good history review of Facebook as the company in general

[Brigitte Dreger · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fascinating and important book for anyone interested in modern history and technology. Well written, fast paced, and covers everything from the start of Facebook to where it is in 2021. I often found myself asking, how would the world look now if Facebook executives had made different decisions at key points?

[krishnanfromrgp · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A detailed look into hows and whys, Facebook has evolved the way it has.

[arubabookwoman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book, written by a Washington Post reporter, is about everything the Russians did in the 2016 election, Although much of the information in the book has been reported in the newspaper, the book puts everything in context, and provides analysis and more detail. Seeing everything laid out so clearly is bone-chilling, all the more so when it is set forth so logically and clearly, rather than in the snippets and bits and pieces of the daily news reports. If you read this book and are not convinced that the country is in deep trouble, you are being willfully blind.This is one of the best books I've read on this subject, connecting all the fragments, as we teeter from one crisis to the other (forgetting prior crises as new ones arise). The book confronts us with just how unprecedented and horrific these past few years have been.

[Annie Hsu · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very interesting on issues concerning our time ! i thoroughly enjoyed it!

[janjuanafees65 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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[john.cooper · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Far and way beyond the usual glass-bubble, self-focused Hollywood memoir, Ron and Clint's The Boys takes you behind the scenes of twentieth-century showbiz, but with a twist: your guides are actually nice, thoughtful people. In fact, I'd venture to say that Ron Howard in particular is an example of how growing up in a truly nurturing family can give someone the strength to grow into a strong, ethical person who is able, through hard work and just a little luck, to realize his potential. Such a background is probably rarer than you might think, and it's certainly rare in Hollywood.

In fact, I would have enjoyed hearing more from Clint, who struggled far more. One gets the sense that he didn't want to rain on Ron's sunny parade by talking about his struggles — and the difficult, dark-side-of-Hollywood things he saw and Ron didn't — by saying as much as he could have. He definitely plays second fiddle in this book, and that seems like a shame.

Aside from the Howards' personalities, and the loving and detailed portrait of their shared, almost unbelievably supportive parents, I enjoyed the trips behind the stages of The Andy Griffith Show and Happy Days, and learning about Ron's far from straightforward journey from acting to directing with the help of Roger Corman, who seems to have been a mentor to dozens of great directors.

[villemezbrown · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was taking a road trip to see my daughter graduate from college, so I downloaded a few audiobooks to listen to in the car. My wife had already read this, but said she wouldn't mind hearing it narrated. We started it on the last day of our return trip and got halfway through before we finally arrived home. We still had the paper book from the library too, so I switched over to that to finish out the book.


The Boys is an engaging and easy read with plenty of guest star cameos and a little bit of insider dirt. This is sort of a nostalgia wallow for me since I grew up watching Ron Howard on The Andy Griffith Show and Happy Days, and large chunks of the book are given over to anecdotes from the sets of those two shows. As presented, Ron is the rare child actor who transitioned relatively smoothly to adult roles and a successful directing career. More than a bit of a square, he had a pretty golden life and has a fairly positive attitude about everything now. To add a little spice and darkness, his brother Clint contributes the occasional chapter and interjection that present his more cynical take on things, as his child acting career petered out and he found himself becoming a bit of a cult figure due to his adult career as a character actor. Clint also talks about his problems with substance abuse.

The brothers let the book serve mostly as a love letter to their parents, who started and guided their childhood careers while their father scrabbled to keep his own acting career alive and their mother struggled with mental and physical health issues. They had their ups and downs but launched an entertainment dynasty while keeping everyone fairly humble.

The book pretty much ends with Ron directing his first movie, making me feel like there may be a second volume down the road covering the rest of his filmmaking career. I'd certainly pick it up if it came to be.

[kslade-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Really interesting to me since I always wondered how "Opie" became a director of really good films.
I was not as much a fan of Clint's work but I knew who he was and did not realize he had a really bad alcohol and drug addiction before he was able to get it under control. The family they grew up in was very close and supported each other but were down-to-earth. Ron did not have the crazy problems of some other child actors who grew up. This is a fun read for a film buff and former TV addict like me.

[sriddell_8 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved this look back on Ron and Clint Howard's careers, families and lives.

Warm, honest and nostalgic. A great memoir!

[dianekeenoy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a wonderful book, especially in audio with Ron and Clint Howard reading it! It was so interesting to hear about their upbringing by their actor parents who let their careers slow down when Ron got the role that made him famous as Opy on the Andy Griffith show and Clint in Gentle Ben. Hearing about the people and how things worked on their shows and movies was fascinating especially since we have been watching The Andy Griffith show on MeTV! Highly recommended!

[janarose1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Rance and Jean, parents of Ron and Clint, move to California to pursue their dreams of becoming movie stars. Instead, their children become stars. Ron stars as Opie in the Andy Griffith Show, Richie in Happy Days, and in numerous movies. Once grown, he becomes a world famous movie director. Clint stars in numerous shows as a child, and then after battling addiction, becomes a character actor in films. However, this book is a tribute to Rance and Jean, who encouraged them, treated them fairly, and set them up for success.

This was an absolutely fascinating book. I knew little about the Howard family before reading this book and was captivated by their family dynamic. The writing style was dynamic, oftentimes funny, and brutally honest. Overall, highly recommended!

[shellys_70 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As celebrity memoirs go, this is fairly tame. No big scandals, no tell-all about other celebrities. Aside from Clint's addictions, (he's now sober), this is just a simple, sweet story about a family of working actors. Both Ron and Clint started acting when they were very young, their careers for a while eclipsing their father's.

The book covers the years when their parents met and fell in love, through The Boys' acting and growing up in Hollywood, to the beginning of Ron's directing career. The structure of the book works really well, with alternating views of the authors, including asides/interruptions by the other, giving the feeling of sitting with the two of them as they tell their story. What resonated most for me is that other than being in show biz, the Howard family was normal and relatable. The book is a delight.

[boundtogetherforgood · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love memoirs, and especially those related to favorite TV programs or movies. I have liked the work of both Ron and b Clint Howard. The audiobook is especially fun because they read it.
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