Here’s how the internet is reacting to Sheryl Sandberg leaving Meta after 14 years

While many people had a harsh reaction to Sheryl Sandberg's departure from Meta and her tenure there, others who knew the COO saw her in a better light.

Meta Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg reacts during an event on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland January 23, 2019. (Image credit: Reuters)

Sheryl Sandberg, the former chief operating officer of Facebook-parent Meta announced on Wednesday that she would be stepping down from her role in the company after 14 years. In the post announcing her departure, Sandberg spoke about her journey, helping shape the company from a small startup to the social media behemoth that it is today.

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg termed her departure as the “end of an era,” praising her for being the architect of the company’s advertising business, which continues to be Meta’s biggest source of revenue. But not all netizens were as kind to Sandberg, who was largely seen as the second in command to Zuckerberg at the company. Reactions to her departure and tenure were mixed.

Also Read | Sheryl Sandberg’s legacy at Facebook: From building its ad business to taking the blame

Journalist Kumutha Ramanathan retweeted a video of analyst Brian Weiser speaking about her work at Google and Facebook, and spoke about how Sandberg was called “the adult in the room,” during her tenure with the social media giant.

She’s famously been called the adult in the room for so long #Facebook #Meta #SherylSandberg #technology #TechNews https://t.co/PyYCLu1Qtg

— Kumutha Ramanathan (@KumuthaRam) June 2, 2022

Mally Skok, an interior designer, was harshly critical of Sandberg, tweeting about how she let down people by not standing up to Zuckerberg. Skok called Facebook a “destroyer of democracy,” in the same tweet. She seems to be referencing the rampant proliferation of fake news on the platform and its alleged contribution to the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol. Facebook had later suspended then US President Donald Trump’s account following its finding that he stoked violence during the insurrection.

You let us down #sherylsandberg -you didn’t lean in for all of us women, or for humanity, you never reined in that little twat, and now the whole world is upside down. #Facebook is a destroyer of democracy. https://t.co/Ywf5swpLwT

— Mally Skok (@mallyskok) June 1, 2022

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Venture capitalist Bill Gurney, on the other hand, praised Sandberg for her work at Facebook. Gurney tweeted about how Sandberg left a career at Google and credited her contribution towards helping Meta become a company worth over $500 billion. Gurney referred to Sandberg as “bold, contrarian and smart.”

A massive hat-tip to @sherylsandberg on a simply unbelievable run as the COO at Facebook. The decision to join Facebook in 2008, & walk away from a soaring career at Google, was bold & contrarian & SMART. The vast majority of the $500B in market cap was built after she joined. pic.twitter.com/wbArzCAv3r

— Bill Gurley (@bgurley) June 2, 2022

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Andrea Nepori, a Berlin-based multimedia journalist, said that there was an internal investigation on Sheryl Sandberg because she allegedly pressured the Daily Mail over a story about her former partner and Activision CEO Bobby Kotick. Nepori also shared a link to a WSJ article that reports on her pressurising the Daily Mail

In case you missed it, there was an ongoing internal investigation on #SherylSandberg at Meta before she resigned. She allegedly pressured the DailyMail over a story about er ex-boyfriend, Activision’s CEO Bobby Kotick. https://t.co/IcA5LpHyff

— Andrea Nepori (@AndreaNepori) June 2, 2022

Opinion | Sheryl Sandberg is leaving Facebook at a perilous moment

“This Q+A from 2020 with #SherylSandberg is so relevant today. She got real about grief, resilience, and hope,” tweeted Marguerite Ward, a reporter at Business Insider. Ward shared a link of her 2020 interview with Sandberg, where the latter shared her experience with handling grief during the pandemic.

This Q+A from 2020 with #SherylSandberg is so relevant today. She got real about grief, resilience, and hope. https://t.co/Io7lYQ94Vc

— Marguerite Ward (@ForWardist) June 1, 2022

Akshobh Giridharadas, a Washington-based journalist tweeted about how he has been a fan of Sandberg for over a decade. Giridharadas tweeted about how Sandberg responded to his cold emails two times. He also described Sandberg as “amiable,” despite Meta’s reputation.

I’ve been a #SherylSandberg fan for over a decade. My fandom was codified when I cold emailed her, and she responded, not once but twice. Had the privilege of interviewing her late husband, Dave Goldberg. Despite Meta’s reputation, she was always amiable. https://t.co/wk80YTHOKt

— Akshobh Giridharadas (@Akshobh) June 1, 2022

In the Facebook post announcing the departure, Sandberg said that she will be focusing more on her foundation once she leaves the company officially by fall this year. Even after her departure, she will continue to serve on Meta’s board of directors.

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