Joanna Hoffman says Facebook is 'destroying the very fabric of democracy'

She was the fifth member of the Macintosh project, joining Apple in 1980.

What you need to know

• A former Apple great has some strong words for Facebook.
• Joanna Hoffman was a member of the original Macintosh team, and of one of the few people who could stand up to Steve Jobs.
• She says some aspects of Facebook were destroying the fabric of democracy and human relationships.

Joanna Hoffman, who worked on the original Macintosh at Apple and was a close advisor to Steve Jobs, has harshly criticized Facebook whilst speaking at the 2020 CogX conference.

As reported by CNBC, Hoffman took a question about "the cult of leadership" in tech, and how people could detach their ego from their own work. In response she said:

"As I look at Facebook, for example, I keep thinking are they really that ignorant or is this motivated by something … darker than what appears?"

She went on saying that although she had "enormous respect" for Facebook's achievements, certain aspects of the platform were "destroying the very fabric of democracy, destroying the very fabric of human relationships and peddling in an addictive drug called anger."

She continued:

"You know it's just like tobacco, it's no different than the opioids. We know anger is addictive, we know we can attract people to our platform and get engagement if we get them p----d off enough. So therefore what, we should capitalize on that each and every time?"

Hoffman joined Apple in 1980 and was the fifth member of the team that worked on the original Macintosh. She is also renowned as being one of the few people who could stand up Steve Jobs. She also worked with him at NeXT before moving on to General Magic. She was portrayed by Kate Winslet in the 2015 'Steve Jobs' movie.

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