Podcast
Angelika Gifford on “Die Boss”
Facebook boss about Böhmermann: “Had to digest the show first”
Angelika Gifford is Facebook’s Vice President for Europe, the Middle East and Africa
© Jürgen Schwarz / Imago Images
In the stern podcast “Die Boss”, the high-ranking Facebook manager Angelika Gifford speaks with host Simone Menne about the allegations from the current Böhmermann show and admits: The negative press also made her sleepless nights.
The allegations weigh heavily: Facebook benefits from human trafficking, weakens democracies and knowingly exposes teenagers to dangers – for example, the presenter Jan Böhmermann collected the numerous allegations against the group in his program “ZDF Magazin Royale” in a post that went viral over the weekend. The editorial team had spoken to a former Facebook employee, the whistleblower Frances Haugen, and researched the leaked “Facebook Papers” themselves. In the clip, Böhmermann finally demanded the expropriation of Facebook in a pointed song. “We had to digest the show – at least from my point of view – for twelve hours. It touched me very, very much, it wasn’t a nice Friday evening, I can guarantee that,” says the high-ranking Facebook manager Angelika Gifford star-Podcast “The Boss”.
The 56-year-old has just been promoted this week and is now responsible for Meta – formerly Facebook – in addition to the business in Europe, also in Africa and the Middle East. In an interview with host Simone Menne, she contradicts Böhmermann’s account. “We have not and will not put profit above safety!” She says. And she assures: “Every teenager who is negatively influenced by us, in quotation marks, is one too many.” The allegations would be taken very seriously and resolved internally.
“Crises can make a company better!”
Gifford says of the whistleblower Frances Haugen: “She simply presented and also questioned the most difficult questions and challenges of our entire industry, not just for meta. They are complex questions and challenges. There are no simple answers. I can not to say now that we will have answered all of these complex questions by 2025. But I can say that we take this very, very seriously and that we will of course also take a close look at each of these statements. “
Angelika Gifford believes that crises can make a company more resilient and a little bit better. “We are on a strong learning curve.” She also indicates that crisis management is not always easy for her: “But of course you lie awake at night and think: My God, what is happening here? What are the issues that are now floating around out there, the negative press doing What does it do for our image, what does it do for our employees, what does it do for our users on the platform, of course? “, says the top manager at” Die Boss “.
In “The Boss – Power is Female” top women talk to each other: hostess and multi-supervisory board member Simone Menne (including BMW, Deutsche Post DHL, Henkel) meets female bosses from all areas of society to talk to them about their lives and careers. “Die Boss” appears every two weeks on wednesdays on stern.de, as well as on Audio Now and all common podcast platforms.