Meta hasn’t directly responded to Berton’s claims, but the company has previously stated that leaking internal information, regardless of the reason, is against its policies.
Losing a job is tough, but imagine getting fired for sharing something that’s already public—with your own spouse. That’s exactly what happened to Riley Berton, a former Meta employee whose story has now gone viral.
Berton, a Staff Software Engineer, said he was terminated after forwarding part of an internal post by CEO Mark Zuckerberg to his wife. The post discussed Meta’s crackdown on underperforming employees. Even though Business Insider and The Verge had already reported on it, Meta still claimed Berton violated company policy and fired him.
What makes it even more painful is the timing—Berton was let go just hours before he was scheduled to receive a performance bonus. He had recently earned an “Exceeds Expectations” rating, proving he was excelling at his job.
Berton highlighted the inconsistency of the situation. He pointed out that if his wife had simply glanced at the post over his shoulder or snapped a quick picture, he likely wouldn’t have been in trouble. “If I took my laptop to a reporter and let them take a photo of the post, I wouldn’t be writing this,” he said, frustrated at how unevenly the rule was applied.
Berton also claimed this isn’t an isolated case. “I don’t know the exact number, but hundreds of Meta employees are in the same situation,” he said. He mentioned that others have been fired for sharing work stress with their partners or even saving notes on their own laptops—because those notes synced to iCloud.
Berton, a Staff Software Engineer, said he was terminated after forwarding part of an internal post by CEO Mark Zuckerberg to his wife. The post discussed Meta’s crackdown on underperforming employees. Even though Business Insider and The Verge had already reported on it, Meta still claimed Berton violated company policy and fired him.
What makes it even more painful is the timing—Berton was let go just hours before he was scheduled to receive a performance bonus. He had recently earned an “Exceeds Expectations” rating, proving he was excelling at his job.
Berton highlighted the inconsistency of the situation. He pointed out that if his wife had simply glanced at the post over his shoulder or snapped a quick picture, he likely wouldn’t have been in trouble. “If I took my laptop to a reporter and let them take a photo of the post, I wouldn’t be writing this,” he said, frustrated at how unevenly the rule was applied.
Berton also claimed this isn’t an isolated case. “I don’t know the exact number, but hundreds of Meta employees are in the same situation,” he said. He mentioned that others have been fired for sharing work stress with their partners or even saving notes on their own laptops—because those notes synced to iCloud.
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