After turning over thousands of internal documents and testifying before Congress in 2021, Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen sent shockwaves through Washington amidst ongoing debates surrounding Facebook and other social media companies’ role in spreading misinformation, particularly amidst the 2020 election.
Haugen worked as Facebook’s lead Product Manager on the Civic Misinformation team initially intending to contribute to the company’s leading efforts to improve user safety protocols.
In an interview with NBC News' Meet the Press, Haugen said she was optimistic when first hired to contribute to one of the industry's leading civic responsibility units, until it dissolved after the 2020 election.
"If you want to have successful change in the enterprise, you have to appoint a Vanguard. You have to have executives say, ‘these people are the future, they’re going to lead us in the right direction.’ And when Facebook dissolved civic integrity, I saw that they weren’t willing to make that commitment anymore."
Haugen referenced her own personal experience with misinformation seeing a friend become more and more radicalized through the algorithmic patterns presented to users, citing the company's prioritization of profit over user safety.
“Facebook is scared that if we actually had transparency, if we actually had accountability, they would not be a company with 35% profit margins. They’d be a company with 15% profit margins," Haugen said, "There was a whole Macedonian...
Park Filed Complaint Against President Lee Ahead of 2021 Election Jang Youngha Sentenced to One Year in Prison, Two Years Probation Confirmed The police have launched an investigation into Park Chu...