Facebook puts chill on TV series based on ‘An Ugly Truth’ book; Legal Letter – Deadline

Facebook may be delayed by revelations from whistleblowers and condemning internal documents released, but Mark Zuckerberg co-founded social media giant has decided to push the boundaries when it comes to the upcoming Doomsday Machine TV series.

“AC can seek to create the series without relying on the absurd characterizations and
fake stories about the book, ”read a letter sent this morning to Anonymous Content CEO Dawn Olmstead from GreenbergTraurig partner Mathew Rosengart on behalf of Facebook regarding the Claire Foy main project based on bestseller An ugly truth.

“Even though our client is a public figure, the truth is still important,” added the lawyer, who also has Britney Spears famous among her clients. The project was announced earlier this month with Kronen vet cast as Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg – no word yet on who plays Zuckerberg. Moreover, there is still no word on what brand besieged Facebook plans to change its name to later in the week, as it has been rumored.

Warning about anonymous content that produces the Ayad Akhtar-created series with Jump from Easttown‘s wiip, in order not to continue “ruthlessly” or risk exposing “AC and others, including financiers, investors, insurance companies, talent and exhibitors to significant financial responsibility”, the four-page correspondence from Rosengart is a classic case of a warning shot across the bow. At the same time, the letter makes it very clear that Facebook is considering the New York Times’ Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia Kang’s July 2021 release An Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook’s Struggle for Dominance to be full of one “grossly misleading characterization” after another. Rosengart poses the threat of a defamatory lawsuit out there, and aims to send a chill:

As a preliminary matter, of course, Facebook recognizes that it is a public person and has
great respect for the first amendment and the rights of journalists and film or television
producers to publish stories about it. As you know, the first change does, however
do not deliberately protect false statements or representations – or those made with the reckless disregard of the truth – even by public figures. Therefore, although Facebook may consider collaborating with you to ensure that the project (if it continues) is correct and truthful, this letter expressly notifies you that (i) the book is fraught with false and defamatory
statements, characterizations and implications about Facebook and its management and also
places Facebook and its leaders in a “false light” in violation of California law and (ii) if the manuscript contains false statements, characterizations and implications (and does not include appropriate nuances and contexts), Facebook will take all appropriate legal action.

In that direction, the letter quotes four specific parts of An ugly truth as legal leg traps. Rosengart claims that the Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg-driven tech goliath entered into an “agreement” with Donald Trump, or that the company spies on staff, and claims that they received and praised An ugly truth has “a false narrative”. He goes on to say Frenkel and Cecilia’s book based on their New York Times reporting and reporting of New Yorker‘s Andrew Marantz “was based on cherry-picked accounts from selective interviews, many from disgruntled individuals who were biased and otherwise lacked credibility.” The former prosecutor adds: “The book’s authors and editors baldly rejected the truthful accounts of the many Facebook leaders who spoke to them.”

Reps to anonymous content did not respond to Deadline’s request for comment on the correspondence. If and when they do, we will update this post.

Rosengart is, of course, fresh on getting Britney Spears’ father fired last month by the oppressive conservatory that has essentially ruled the one-time princess of Pop’s life since 2008.

Praised as a “hard as nail streetfighter with a big brain and bigger principles” by client Sean Penn in a recent NYT profile and washed over (luckily I found a great lawyer Mathew Rosengart who has helped change my life !!! “) by Spears, who brought the GT lawyer on board this summer, Rosengart has represented not only the Oscar winner and” Toxic “singer in recent years, but also Steven Spielberg, Julia Louis Dreyfus, Eddie Vedder and NBA’s Jimmy Butler as well as Michael Man’s Forward Pass and Open Road Films.

As the Spears saga heads toward some sort of conclusion, Rosengart will be back in Los Angeles Superior Court on Nov. 12 for a hearing before Judge Brenda Penny, which appears to be the beginning of the end of the 13-year-old conservatory.

On the Facebook front, the stock is up 0.38% today to around $ 325 — that’s a marked increase from the $ 270s at the beginning of the year, but from its 52-week high of $ 384 earlier in the fall in the middle of a drum of negative news launched by “Facebook Files” series of revelations in the Wall Street Journal and other businesses led by highly effective whistleblower Francis Haugen, she testifies for British lawmakers today after a turn in DC

Added to the time of today’s letter to anonymous content, the company reports earnings after the market closed on Monday, and investors are also eager to see the fallout from Apple’s new iOS privacy settings, which hit Snap’s quarterly numbers and its shares hard last week.

Jill Goldsmith contributed to this report