Controversial insider account by former Meta official has strong first-week sales

NEW YORK (AP) — A former Meta official's explosive insider account sold 60,000 copies in its first week and reached the top 10 on Amazon.com's best-seller list amid efforts by the social media giant to discredit the book.

Released last week by Flatiron Books, a Macmillan imprint, Sarah Wynn-Williams’ “Careless People” alleges cruel and otherwise disturbing behavior by Mark Zuckerberg, Joel Kaplan and other executives and describes Zuckerberg's alleged efforts to win favor with Chinese officials. Meta has countered that Wynn-Williams, a former director of global public policy who left what was then Facebook in 2017, violated a severance agreement and wrote a book filled with inaccuracies.

According to Flatiron, first week sales include print audio and digital editions. On Wednesday, “Careless People” ranked No. 3 on Amazon.

In response to a complaint filed by Meta, emergency arbitrator Nicholas A. Gowen last week placed a hold on Wynn-Williams' promoting the book or making further "critical claims" about her former employer. In his ruling, Gowen wrote that Meta had “established a likelihood of success on the merits of its contractual non-disparagement claim” against Wynn-Williams. Flatiron can still publish and promote “Careless People.”

A statement from Meta praised the arbitrator’s decision, saying it “affirms that Sarah Wynn Williams’ false and defamatory book should never have been published.” Meta has otherwise called “Careless People” a "mix of out-of-date and previously reported claims about the company and false accusations about our executives.”

Flatiron also issued a statement, saying it "was appalled by Meta’s tactics to silence our author through the use of a non-disparagement clause in a severance agreement.” The publisher added that the arbitrator had not addressed the allegations made by Wynn-Williams.

“The book went through a thorough editing and vetting process, and we remain committed to publishing important books such as this. We will absolutely continue to support and promote it," the statement reads.

Flatiron did not announce the book until just days before its release. Meta's response has included queries to media outlets, among them The Associated Press, over their plans for coverage. Washington Post critic Ron Charles wrote last week that he had received repeated messages from Meta.

“In my 27 years of reviewing and editing newspaper books sections, no company has ever done this with me,” he noted.