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A Facebook employee reportedly blow-dried Mark Zuckerberg's armpits before he gave speeches to get rid of his anxiety sweat

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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg takes a drink of water as he testifies before a House Energy and Commerce hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, April 11, 2018, about the use of Facebook data to target American voters in the 2016 election and data privacy. AP Photo

  • A new book by Wired's Steven Levy claims Zuckerberg is obsessed with his public image and that a Facebook employee blow dried his sweaty armpits before big events, according to a review of the book by Bloomberg's Austin Carr.
  • Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg is also reportedly depicted as controlling of her public image.
  • Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey responded to the story by offering to provide blow-drying services to his company's communications team.
  • There's historical context to support the notion that Zuckerberg sweats under pressure: Back in 2010, he visibly sweated in an on-stage interview with tech journalist Kara Swisher.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
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Members of Facebook's communications team reportedly blow-dry Mark Zuckerberg's armpits before big speeches to get rid of his anxiety-induced sweat. 

The anecdote comes from "Facebook: the Inside Story," a new book coming out this month by Wired's Steven Levy, according to a review by Bloomberg's Austin Carr

Notably, there's some historical context here that supports the notion that Zuckerberg sweats under pressure: Famously, Zuckerberg visibly sweated in an on-stage interview with tech journalist Kara Swisher at an event in 2010.

"I doubt this is true and if so it would have been at our communications team's request, but surely anyone who has ever worn a grey t-shirt can relate," Facebook spokesperson Liz Bourgeois told Business Insider in an email in response to the blow dryer claims.

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Meanwhile, Zuckerberg is portrayed in the book as somewhere "between naive genius and robotic robber baron," according to Carr, who added that Zuckerberg "is consumed by his public image."

The book also reportedly describes COO Sheryl Sandberg as obsessed with her public image, with Carr saying she's depicted as a "micromanager" who would pretend to be nervous in interviews in an effort to get easier questions from journalists.

Bourgeois took to Twitter to say there was "nothing fake" about Sandberg's nerves in interviews.

Bloomberg's review attracted the attention of at least one of Zuckerberg's peers: Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey joked that he would offer armpit blow drying services for his communications team, in response to a question about whether he had ever required similar treatment. 

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This isn't the first time Dorsey has chimed in on odd anecdotes about Zuckerberg — last year he said during an interview that Zuckerberg had once attempted to serve him a goat that he had apparently killed himself.

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