OP didn’t make a statement about the facts on the ground, but the culture and myths of the time. (If you think the villainy myths we tell ourselves today are more grounded in truth, they’re not. We’re always in a narrative. And there is nothing wrong with collective narratives.)
Narrative is the correct word for what this is. This is what Facebook leadership wanted to persuade the Facebook rank-and-file that _this_ is what they're about. This is purposeful internal propaganda.
There is always a narrative. It’s how our brains synthesise. The existence of a narrative is neither deifying nor damning.
A narrative is what a person wants you to perceive, not how you end up perceiving it.
Yes but people talked about it even less than they do today. Back then you could say connecting people is always a good thing and people didn't challenge that openly like we do today.
The average 1st world citizen didn't comprehend how expanding networks meant centralizing power in even fewer hands.