Whistleblower To Testify Over Claims Facebook Allowed Hate Speech, Misinformation, On Platform

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Facebook Whistleblower Overview: 

• Who: Frances Haugen has lodged allegations against her former employer, Facebook. 
• Why: Haugen claims Facebook knows its site is used to spread violence and hate, but doesn’t do anything to fix it because it would cut back on its profits. 
• Where: Haugen is set to testify in front of Congress today.

A former Facebook employee has revealed themselves as the anonymous whistleblower behind a recent document leak revealing the company’s inner workings.

Data scientist Frances Haugen told CBS 60 Minutes on Sunday that Facebook has deceived consumers and investors about its ability to rid the platform of misinformation and hate speech. 

Haugen had previously kept her identity a secret while leaking tens of thousands of pages of documents to the media and law enforcement. 

“Facebook over and over again has shown it chooses profit over safety,” Haugen told Scott Pelley during her 60 Minutes interview on Oct. 3.

Haugen is scheduled to go in front of Congress today to testify about her former employer before the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security. 

Facebook issued a statement in response to the 60 Minutes interview, disputing Haugen’s claims and touting the company’s work to curb harmful content on the social media platform. 

“Every day our teams have to balance protecting the right of billions of people to express themselves openly with the need to keep our platform a safe and positive place,” Facebook spokesperson Lena Pietsch said in the statement. “We continue to make significant improvements to tackle the spread of misinformation and harmful content. To suggest we encourage bad content and do nothing is just not true.” 

Former Facebook Data Scientist Alleges the Social Platform ‘Covers Up’ the Spread of Misinformation and Hate

Haugen, meanwhile, claims Facebook is aware its platform is used to spread misinformation and hate, but attempts to cover up the issue because it knows it is good for its profit margins. 

The former Facebook product manager filed at least eight complaints against the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission around a month ago, accusing Facebook of hiding research looking into the company from the public and investors, reports CNN. 

“The thing I saw at Facebook over and over again was there were conflicts of interest between what was good for the public and what was good for Facebook, and Facebook over and over again chose to optimize for its own interests, like making more money,” Haugen told 60 Minutes.

Facebook announced last month that it was pausing its work on Instagram Kids — a version of the social media image-sharing platform to be catered for children between 10 and 12 years old — following pushback from parents, lawmakers, and child advocates. 

Do you believe Facebook intentionally allows hate speech and misinformation on its platform? Let us know in the comments!

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