Although Facebook (or Meta nowadays) may think that 2018, when the Cambridge Analytica scandal occurred, will always be its worst 12 months in history, 2021 has already taken away this unpopular title and is not over yet. The company is now facing accusations that it tried to discredit the name of its former employee Frances Haugen among Washington politicians.
Internal documents leaked by Haugen earlier this year show that Facebook knows how harmful its social media platforms are to society, including the decisive impact that Instagram may have on the mental health of girls.
In addition, Haugen also revealed that Facebook’s changes to its algorithm closed some safeguards designed to combat the spread of misinformation and may have contributed to the riots in the Capitol. She also said that when it comes to content review, the company will rank the importance of different countries.
The turmoil caused Facebook to temporarily suspend its plans for the Instagram for Kids app, and Congress also summoned a number of executives to participate in multiple hearings. According to the Wall Street Journal, Facebook lobbyists and public relations staff in Washington launched an offensive against Haugen after she participated in CBS’s 60 Minutes program.
The team allegedly warned Democrats that Republicans used Haugen’s leaks to slam the company’s decision to ban posts supporting Kenosha gunner Kyle Rittenhouse, which the company later overturned.
At the same time, Republicans were also told that Haugen was a Democratic activist and wanted to provide support for President Biden’s government. Facebook pointed out that her public relations company was run by former President Obama staff as evidence of this claim.
Members of the two parties interviewed by the newspaper said that these calls were meant to prevent lawmakers from uniting against Facebook/Meta. But Haugen was invited to testify before Congress, and this would cause legislators from both parties to commit to stricter supervision of social media companies.
In addition, the Washington Daily also pointed out that CEO Mark Zuckerberg has told employees not to apologize for Facebook’s research. Instagram’s head of public policy, Karina Newton, wrote that these damaging reports focused on a limited set of findings and described them negatively.
Earlier this month, a survey showed that Facebook/Meta was voted the worst company in 2021 with a big advantage, 50% more votes than the second-ranked Alibaba. No one will feel this result. surprise.