Unmasking the Guardian of Facebook's Secrets

Unmasking the Guardian of Facebook’s Secrets

Frances Haugen, the Facebook whistleblower behind the Wall Street Journal’s bombshell report collectively known asThe Facebook Files , has revealed her identity in an interview on CBS News’ 60 Minutes.

Read on to find out more about Haugen and some of the claims she made against the social network and tech giant in the interview.

Who Is the Facebook Whistleblower?

The Facebook whistleblower is a woman called Frances Haugen, aged 37. She is a former product manager on the Civic Integrity team at Facebook.

Haugen filed complaints with federal law enforcement against her former employer, claiming that Facebook’s research shows that the platform amplifies hate, misinformation, and political unrest—although the company hides that.

Haugen is a data scientist from Iowa, and holds a degree in Computer Engineering, as well as a Master’s degree in Business from Harvard. She has 15 years’ experience working for big tech companies like Google and Pinterest.

Here are some of the biggest claims made by Haugen in her recent 60 Minutes interview:

5 Claims Made by Frances Haugen on 60 Minutes

1. Facebook’s Algorithm Shows You Hateful and Divisive Content

Haugen claims that of all the content options Facebook can show you, the algorithm shows you content that is most likely to get a particular reaction from you—content that may incite violence or other extreme reactions or emotions.

One of the consequences of how Facebook is picking out that content today is it is – optimizing for content that gets engagement, or reaction. But its own research is showing that content that is hateful, that is divisive, that is polarizing, it’s easier to inspire people to anger than it is to other emotions.

2. Facebook Is Profiting From Showing You Hateful and Divisive Content

Haugen claims that the more you consume content that evokes anger or incites violence, the more profitable it is for Facebook.

Facebook makes more money when you consume more content. People enjoy engaging with things that elicit an emotional reaction. And the more anger that they get exposed to, the more they interact and the more they consume.

3. Facebook Chooses Profit Over Safety

Haugen claims that Facebook continuously trades in users’ safety for its own gain by allowing dangerous content on its platform.

Facebook has demonstrated they cannot act independently, Facebook, over and over again, has shown it chooses profit over safety. It is subsidizing, it is paying for its profits with our safety.

4. Facebook Is Lying to You About Its Fight Against Hate, Violence, and Misinformation

Haugen claims that Facebook turned on safety systems to reduce misinformation around the 2020 Election, but that many of those measures were temporary.

As soon as the election was over, they turned them back off or they changed the settings back to what they were before, to prioritize growth over safety.

5. Instagram Is Harming Teenage Girls

As already widely reported, Haugen claims that Instagram is negatively impacting the teenagers using the social media app.

Facebook’s own research says, as these young women begin to consume this– this eating disorder content, they get more and more depressed. And it actually makes them use the app more. And so, they end up in this feedback cycle where they hate their bodies more and more. Facebook’s own research says it is not just the Instagram is dangerous for teenagers, that it harms teenagers, it’s that it is distinctly worse than other forms of social media.

What Is the Way Forward for Facebook?

Haugen has made some bold claims about the way Facebook operates, and her lawyers have filed several complaints with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which enforces the law in financial markets.

In the meantime, Facebook has, unsurprisingly, released a statement denying the claims made by Haugen, saying it has invested significantly in keeping its platform safe. But this could yet prove to be a watershed moment, with Facebook forced to hold itself more to account.