Meta whistleblower Frances Haugen says Zuckerberg’s apology to families a ‘turning point’

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WATCH INTERVIEW ON CNBC.COM

Meta whistleblower Frances Haugen felt co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony before Congress was “powerful” on Wednesday — especially when he turned to apologize directly to families who blamed the toxicity of social media for the loss of a loved one.

“That apology, I think, is a turning point because it’s the first time he’s actually had to visibly face the consequences of his choices,” Haugen said on CNBC’s Last Call.

The hearing regarding child safety on social media featured several prominent tech CEOs from Discord, Snap, TikTok, and X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. But perhaps none drew more ire from lawmakers than Zuckerberg.

At one point, Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley pressed Zuckerberg on research that showed minors were encountering inappropriate and unwanted content like nudity on Instagram at an alarming rate. Zuckerberg fumbled and then refused to answer Hawley’s question over who was fired in the wake of those revelations.

“Do you know who’s sitting behind you,” Hawley asked. “You’ve got families from across the nation whose children are either severely harmed or gone. You don’t think it’s appropriate to talk about steps that you took?”

Hawley implored Zuckerberg to apologize to those in attendance, and the CEO rose from his seat and turned to speak directly to the crowd.

“I’m sorry for everything that you have all been through. It’s terrible,” Zuckerberg said. “This is why we invest so much and are going to continue doing industry-leading efforts to make sure that no one has to go through the types of things that your families have had to suffer.”

Haugen, the former Facebook product manager turned whistleblower who leaked a trove of internal documents to the Wall Street Journal in 2021, said the apology was amplified by the many families in attendance.

“It was a full room,” Haugen said. “The energy was electric.”

Many of the internal documents Haugen leaked detailed the company’s knowledge of the potentially harmful impact social media platforms Facebook and Instagram may have on underage users.

Capitalizing on a Stanley Cup Run with ‘Skyrocketing’ Revenue

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A conversation with Florida Panthers CEO Matt Caldwell

When I heard my show Last Call was planning a special in Miami Beach, I knew I had something big to offer on the booking front. My college days as a host of the Pucking Panthers Podcast put me in touch with the communications department of my favorite hockey team. They even gave our vlog press passes and allowed us to pepper the coach with questions back in 2015-16.

The Pucking Panthers Podcast was active from 2015-2017 with hosts Alex Suissa, Taylor Craig, and Ryan Keelan.

But a full circle moment happened for me in 2024. I was able to book, produce and line produce a live interview with Florida Panthers CEO Matt Caldwell.

The long-struggling franchise was purchased back in 2013, and Caldwell was brought on shortly thereafter to guide the team’s financial decision-making. Now, 10 years later, Caldwell says a recent Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Finals has led to ‘skyrocketing’ sponsorship revenue.

Here’s the full interview with Caldwell and our host Brian Sullivan.

While it may be obvious what a segment producer does (prep all video, graphics, banners, research, and scripts for a segment) — not many are familiar with the role of the line producer. A role I’ve held for the past 3 years.

I’m basically the only person in Brian’s ear the whole time. I talk to him between breaks, let him know how much time he has left, and occasionally suggest topics during the interview while the guest is answering another question.

OFF-CAMERA

During the three-minute commercial break, I was chatting with Brian — who admittedly doesn’t know much about hockey — that superstar Matthew Tkachuk would be a great discussion point with Caldwell. I was surprised when he asked if he was Keith Tkachuk’s younger brother — and Brian felt very old when I informed him that was actually Matthew’s father. Give him credit for knowing a throwback NHL name though.

DECISIONS DURING

Ahead of the interview, it was agreed upon between our team and the Panthers comms team that we’d ask a question about the new stunning practice facility in Fort Lauderdale. It was understandably a big deal for them. As I realized we were only two minutes to the end of the show (7:58p, Shark Tank starts at 8p) — I hopped in Brian’s ear and reminded him to ask about it. Once he did, we had the video ready to run. 

WRAP

Brian did it in his own hilarious way and after a little back and forth about Messi — that would be just about it for the interview. A great discussion about the team’s on-ice transformation, growing the fanbase, and key financial milestones.

And a really cool moment for me. Growing up, I was always disappointed in media coverage of the Panthers. Now I got to lay out the team’s narrative in a way that felt fair. A franchise that’s been transformed into a winner — something South Florida always wanted.

And I was able to craft the segment in a way that mattered to my new audience of CNBC viewers, not just Florida Panthers faithful. If the Pucking Panthers Podcast were still around, I’m sure Alex and Ryan would be yelling at me for not asking about the rising price of the Turkey Sandwich near the Coors Light Cold Zone. Maybe next time.

For more on the history of the Pucking Panthers Podcast, check out the page all about it on my site.

VCs Poised to Repeat Mistakes Chasing AI

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More than a quarter of venture dollars in 2023 went to artificial intelligence startups, according to data from Crunchbase.

“VCs created the problem,” Matt Higgins, Co-founder and CEO of RSE Ventures. “Now with AI — you have all these VCs that are chasing all these deals.”

Just last month, French startup Mistral AI raised $415 million dollars in a funding round valuing the company at $2 billion. Even more eye-popping is the disparity between this funding round and the $112 million seed round it raised only six months prior.

This is not to say that Mistral AI won’t be successful — it allows users to build their own AI chatbots — it just represents how the chase is on in a massive way.

“How is it possible to figure out in 2023 what’s gonna be commoditized or what’s gonna be absorbed by Microsoft as a feature or Meta,” Higgins said. “So I do think a lot of money is chasing and creating the same problem. Lots of people are gonna lose a ton of money. Will they ever learn? The answer is ‘no.'”

Clicks Over Clarity: Misleading Headlines About Tesla’s “Recall” 

last call

Wednesday, December 15

Context: After a years-long investigation into Tesla’s autopilot feature, NHTSA has ordered the company to recall 2 million of its vehicles. But all this means for Tesla is that they’ll have to issue an over-the-air software update to adjust the feature at no cost to owners.

While we originally planned to have this discussion around Tesla’s stock price, our host Brian Sullivan quickly honed in on the detail that many publishers were burying or outright ignoring.

Brian: “I think for most consumers, when they see the word ‘recall’ they assume something more serious than a software update.”

We had passionate Tesla investor Ross Gerber join Last Call to share his take on the issue that seems to repeat itself every few months.

Ross: “I do think it’s very misleading when the media runs headlines like 2 million cars being recalled. It certainly infers that there’s a negative financial impact to this — and there isn’t,” Gerber said. “The media must call Tesla for comment — as you guys do every time — and what do they say: nothing.”

“Why would the headlines be correct? How would the headlines be correct if they don’t correct them? So now you have me on tv and we try to get the right information out to consumers, to viewers, and to investors. Tesla doesn’t do this. So why?”

While Gerber’s point about Tesla lacking a PR department to thwart false narratives about the company is justified, I would place the onus for this miscommunication on business journalists. Media has a responsibility to fact-check the initial headlines it receives from government agencies, not rely on dated language. Just look at some of these headlines:

Credit to the Financial Times and our own network CNBC for framing the story accurately. While other publications’ headlines were factually correct, there is a responsibility to not omit vital details that would better inform the casual reader.

Rightfully so, Tesla enthusiasts were pissed — and don’t just suspect a lack of due diligence from media — but believe the error occurs repeatedly because of a concerted effort to smear Tesla.

These were replies to the Last Call interview posted to twitter. There is a complete lack of trust in business journalism. Tesla supporters feel jaded and even resort to criticizing the network that is pointing out the misinformation in the media ecosystem.

This is the cost of a media that prioritizes clicks over clarity.

In the control room during this live interview, even I noticed that our first headline didn’t have enough room to mention the software update. You’ll notice at 0:54 we change the banner (that has limited character space) to “TESLA ROLLS OUT AUTOPILOT UPDATE”.

You’d like to think this online backlash from Tesla believers would cause journalists to think twice about their headlines. All I can say from my team is that it won’t be a mistake you see on Last Call.

Misinformation Spreads About Israel-Hamas War

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On Last Call, Brian speaks with Ian Bremmer, President of global risk management firm Eurasia Group, about a hotly debated event in Gaza. Major publications like the New York Times and Associated Press ran a headline about 500 people killed after an Israeli airstrike on a hospital. Though they cited the Gaza spokesperson, the ensuing chaos on social media and on Capitol Hill demonstrated the need for verification in journalism. This is one of my favorite conversations we’ve had as it incorporates graphics that show the enraging headlines — and the protests breaking out over the Middle East.

I played an instrumental role in booking Bremmer, pitching the targeted angle of the segment, and calling the show live to ensure editorial accuracy in visual elements and timing.

‘Facebook Under Fire:’ Cheddar News’ In-Depth Look at the Wall Street Journal’s Bombshell Reports

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FULL EPISODE: https://cheddar.com/media/facebook-under-fire-cheddar-news-in-depth-look-at-wall-street-journal-bombshell-reports

At a time when Wall Street Journal reporters were in high demand following the release of the bombshell series ‘Facebook Files,’ I conceptualized and executed this half-hour special that was turned around within a week. It features a reporter hit from our own talent, and three interviews of authors from this WSJ series, conducted by Kristen Scholer.