Yaël Eisenstat

Democracy activist and former Facebook employee Yaël Eisenstat has been loudly and unapologetically sounding the alarm for years on the dangers of social media and its impact on our democracy. In her TED Talk, her viral op-eds, and the groundbreaking book An Ugly Truth: Behind Facebook’s Battle for Domination (where she is one of the subjects), Yaël boldly tackles the very real consequences that tech companies have on societies and democracies around the world. The way social media companies are currently constructed is actively damaging our communities and democracy. So where do we go from here?

With over two decades of experience in the public sector and tech industry, this Cybersecurity for Democracy Senior Fellow has a unique vantage point for understanding these critical issues. It’s up to us, our advocacy, and our activism to create meaningful change, she says. This vital talk, presented by a true change-maker, reveals powerful ideas for how government and society should hold tech companies accountable—and how we can reclaim our public square for everyone’s good.

Too often, women in leadership feel pressure to hide their emotions at work for fear of being labelled hysterical or unfit to lead. But Yaël Eisenstat, a former intelligence officer who now advocates for transparency in tech, reveals how vulnerability can actually be a superpower for women in positions of power. You don’t have to be “one of the boys” to lead the boys, she says.

In this inspiring talk, Yaël shares her journey through some high-pressure roles, both at home and abroad, where she was often the only woman at the table. From the CIA to countering extremism overseas, advising on national security issues at the White House, and tackling the threat of elections integrity at Facebook, she shares lessons on how to balance the grit and the grace of being a woman leader in traditionally male-dominated spaces. Yaël speaks of being knocked down and getting back up; of successes and disappointments she encountered along the way; and of the compromises she has made to balance succeeding in a man’s world with maintaining her own sense of self. Audiences leave empowered to speak out, take up space, and do good work.

The breakdown of civil discourse is more than just the loss of polite society—it’s a genuine threat to our national security. As a former intelligence officer and U.S. diplomat, Yaël Eisenstat felt alarmed by the growing social and political rifts happening throughout America. Even more concerning? The way the internet, and social media, was contributing to this divide. Yaël grappled with the question of who was responsible for the real-world consequences of tech, particularly as it impacted our democracy. With the danger at home steadily rising, she believed her experience in the public sector could help fill a gap in Silicon Valley’s talent pool—and chip away at the ways tech enabled polarization and election hacking. She took a job as the Global Head of Elections Integrity Operations at Facebook, working inside a company she felt played a major role in threatening democracy.

In a talk that is both eye-opening and essential, Yaël shares the lessons she learned from her time in the national security world and at Facebook, her perspective on government’s role in regulating tech, and finally, ideas on how all of us can contribute to the united America we want to build.