Yael Eisenstat is a former CIA officer, former diplomat, former national security adviser to then vice president Joe Biden, and former Global Head of Elections Integrity Operations for Political Ads at Facebook. With her rich and varied experience, she held tough roles in complicated organizations around the world.
In her previous role working at Facebook, she witnessed the intentional political decision-making that happened in the company which impacted not only the state of affairs in the US but also of the world. She was faced with pushback, and nearly six months into her role, she felt disempowered to do her job and decided to leave Facebook.
In this #HoldTheLine interview with Rappler’s Maria Ressa, Yael Eisenstat talks about these moments of courage in her work, how she continues to seek what accountability means for big tech companies, and why she persists with her values and working on issues such as the future of democracy and human rights despite the cost.
She says in the interview: “I’m not me if I’m not fighting for what I believe in.” Yael Eisenstat also discusses the danger of the way our interactions have evolved, where we find ourselves either avoiding conversations about divisive topics or actually having these conversations and having them result in disdain or worse, violence. For the past five years, she’s been holding on to the idea that “American hate is a bigger threat than foreign terrorism.“
Watch the interview on Friday, April 9, at 7 pm.
This interview was recorded on Thursday, April 8. Rappler+ members got the chance to attend the live recording of the show and were able to ask her questions directly after the interview.
You can attend other events like this and receive other member benefits like exclusive content and newsroom access by joining Rappler+. – Rappler.com
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