Former Google activist Claire Stapleton releases memoir on the company’s internal culture

Claire Stapleton, a key organizer of the 2018 Google walkout that mobilized about 20,000 employees, has issued a memoir called "Don't Be Evil" that pulls back the curtain on her years at the company. Joining Google in 2007, she worked in internal communications and earned the nickname "the Bard of Google" for her witty company-wide emails before moving to a marketing role at YouTube. After leaving in 2019, citing retaliation for her activism, she reflects on how the firm’s lofty mission of using technology for good clashed with a pattern of bad management and intolerance for dissent.

The book argues that the walkout spooked leadership, prompting tighter controls on political expression and a broader cultural shift. Stapleton observes that current employee unrest over the firm’s work with the Pentagon, ICE, and AI restructuring signals a continuing struggle between the company’s public image and internal reality. She also mentions her post-Google advice column, Tech Support, which receives letters from workers grappling with purpose and the impact of AI. Google did not respond to a request for comment.