[Newsletter] 4.30.26 | “Meta isn’t hiding anything,”
April 28, 2026
April brought us a confession from Meta’s lawyers, the “creepy” Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special, the backlash of Timothée Chalamet’s thoughts on classical art forms, another mass layoff via email, a Real Housewife’s release from prison and some noteworthy examples.
Remember, if you see someone break our golden rule—do not repeat or deny a negative word—send it in, and you might just make the winning comment!
THE WINNING COMMENT
“Meta isn’t hiding anything about the risk of the platforms. It discloses them everywhere,” said Meta’s own attorney in a trial, arguing that the social platform failed to protect teenagers from sexual predators and harmful content. He laid down the facts as lawyers often do—by denying the negative. As a result, the unintended message from Meta itself; these platforms are risky.
Albuquerque Journal, “New Mexico seeks more than $2 billion in penalties in Meta trial” March 23, 2026
THE RUNNERS-UP
“Alex being a superfan, kinda creepy, she’s also my neighbor, which is also creepy,” joked Miley Cyrus on social media about the host of the Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special. “She got money, and then she moved next door to me, so there was no other host.” Ah, yes, the two things Disney wants their audience to think about during the show—nostalgia and creepiness. If you’re an original reader of You Don’t Say… this example might remind you of our favorite training clip featuring the author who moved next door to Sarah Palin to write a book about her. The line etched in our memory, “creepy is as creepy does.” Remember, never repeat, deny, or introduce negative words during interviews.
Page Six, “Miley Cyrus calls out ‘creepy’ Alex Cooper at ‘Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special’ premiere” March 24, 2026
WRONG THING TO SAY
During his main stage appearance at the recent Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Grapevine, TX, evangelist Franklin Graham made a statement that he ultimately rolled back saying that he “misspoke” when he said to CPAC voters “That’s why it’s important that we do everything that we can to try to get him reelected.” All of this even though President Trump is barred by the U.S. Constitution from being elected as President more than twice. The comment received thunderous applause from his in-person audience, but as soon as he left the stage, his team went into damage control mode. A spokesman for Graham told The Christian Post that immediately after he finished his speech Thursday, Graham “confirmed that he intended to say the president’s policies should be reelected — not that the president should be reelected.”
MSN, “Franklin Graham says he ‘misspoke’ when he told CPAC to ‘do everything we can’ to get Trump ‘reelected’” March 27, 2026
WRONG THING TO DO
Big Tech continues to conduct mass layoffs via email. In this case, 6,000 Oracle employees received a 6 a.m. email from “Oracle Leadership” alerting them to the news. “We are sharing some difficult news regarding your position,” the email reportedly read. “After careful consideration of Oracle’s current business needs, we have made the decision to eliminate your role as part of a broader organizational change. As a result, today is your last working day. We are grateful for your dedication, hard work, and the impact you have made during your time with us.” The email also included instructions on termination paperwork and requested that employees share a personal email address for further communications.
Newsweek, “Oracle Layoffs As Thousands Wake To Surprise 6am Email” April 1, 2026
APOLOGIES
“I was wrong,” admitted former Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah in an interview following her release from prison. Her apology continued, “I made wrong decisions. I should have done things differently. I should have been more diligent. And I’m deeply remorseful and sorry for my actions and for my part. I take full responsibility.” It was a solid apology in our book but got overshadowed by her inside scoop on being locked up with notable figures, like Elizabeth Holmes and Ghislaine Maxwell, and breaking the news that federal prison is in fact not “Camp Cupcake.”
The Independent, “Jen Shah asks for ‘grace’ and apologizes in post-jail interview” April 1, 2026
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei apologized for writing a memo to staff in which he said the Trump administration didn’t like Anthropic in part because the company hadn’t “given dictator-style praise to Trump.” Amodei said he apologized for “the tone of the post,” and added: “It does not reflect my careful or considered views.” Always remember the first thing we ask, “Who’s your audience?” followed by “What do you want them to remember?” Following this advice can very often prevent the need to issue an apology later.
The Information, “Anthropic CEO: Trump Disliked Company For Not Giving ‘Dictator-Style Praise’” March 6, 2026
YOU DO SAY
NASA is single handedly giving us all the positive and brilliant content we need for our “YOU DO SAY” section. While we’ll feature comments from the returning Artemis II astronauts next month, let’s start with former astronaut Cady Coleman, who walked CNN viewers through the live launch and shared her thoughts on the overall moon mission, “it’s where people have wanted to go. I mean, we’re built to explore. And I think that no one’s ever given up on the thing that they see in the sky… we’ve been building for a long time to get ready to make this leap, not just to go and plant a flag on the moon, but to make the plans and –base there and actually stay.”
CNN.com – Transcripts, April 1, 2026
The popular online brand Quince is getting some much-deserved positive attention for its proactive customer service approach. In this case, the company noticed the product was slightly damaged and laid out three options for the buyer who was so impressed she posted this video on TikTok. Notice the comments. Our favorite, “I have seen roughly 2.5M Quince ads, but this video is the reason I actually went to the website for the first time.” Talk about a PR win!
TikTok, “My Experience with Quince Sectionals: Customer Support Review” February 27, 2026
Timothée Chalamet was under fire for a comment claiming “no one cares” about art forms like ballet or opera. Whether it was a stunt or not related to his recent film is up for debate, but the responses online were pure gold. London’s Royal Ballet responded with a video highlighting performances and captioned it: Every night at the Royal Opera House, thousands of people gather for ballet and opera. For the music. For the storytelling. For the sheer magic of live performance. If you’d like to reconsider, @tchalamet, our doors are open. A prime example of using good words and turning a negative headline into a positive one.
Variety, “Timothée Chalamet Faces Backlash From Ballet and Opera Communities After Viral ‘No One Cares’ Comment: ‘We’d Love To Change Your Mind’” March 7, 2026
“You Don’t Say” is a reminder not to repeat and deny a negative word because of how the listener hears words. When you repeat and deny a negative word, the listener is likely to overlook the denial and hear the opposite of what the speaker is trying to say.