Sarah Wynn-Williams remained silent during her hour-long appearance, but sales of Careless People have since increased by more than 300%
Sales of the whistleblowing memoir Careless People increased by more than 300% in the UK the week after its author was “silenced” during an appearance at Hay festival following legal action by Meta, the subject of the book.
Sarah Wynn-Williams – who between 2011 and 2017 served as the director of global public policy at what was then called Facebook – sat on stage but did not speak during her hour-long appearance on 31 May on the advice of her lawyer. She appeared alongside the journalist Carole Cadwalladr and academic Tim Wu.
The sales boost – 304.5% week-on-week – has nudged the book, published last March, to the number one spot in the paperback nonfiction chart.
Upon publication, Meta obtained an order blocking Wynn-Williams from promoting her book, which accuses the company of a toxic internal culture and manipulative political influence. Meta has described the book as “a mix of out-of-date and previously reported claims about the company and false accusations about our executives”.
In March, Meta filed a sanctions motion claiming that Wynn-Williams violates the order any time she makes an appearance in a place “where she should know that her book is available for sale and her presence might draw attention to it”, according to a letter from her lawyers sent to Hay festival on 30 May. “Meta also said attending the Hay festival would...
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