Facebook lobbyists attempted to use partisan rancor to head off criticism in the wake of devastating whistleblower leaks, while half of the company's employees doubt it contributes to societal good, according to a new report.
After former Facebook employee Frances Haugen came forward in October with thousands of damaging internal documents, company lobbyists worked the phones furiously, calling Republican lawmakers and advocacy groups to accuse her of pushing a liberal agenda, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Wednesday.
Within days, similar claims began to appear in certain conservative-leaning publications, including articles calling Haugen 'the frontwoman of a PR campaign pushed by the Democratic party,' a 'leftist activist' and someone who is 'part of a broader Democratic initiative.'
But soon enough, the Journal reported, Facebook tried to burn the candle at the other end by calling up Democrats in Congress and suggesting that Republicans were only upset at the company's ban on expressions of support for Kyle Rittenhouse, the teen later acquitted of murder charges in Wisconsin.
The alleged strategy appears to have been an attempt to use partisan wedges to head off any unified government response, by fostering suspicion of Haugen's motives in an already deeply polarized political climate.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg spearheaded a sharp-elbowed response to whistleblower allegations, with company lobbyists reportedly using partisan rancor
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