Whistleblower · 2021 Frances Haugen & the Facebook Files — They Studied the Harm, Then Buried It

Frances Haugen, a former Facebook product manager, resigned in 2021 and took tens of thousands of internal documents with her — the basis of the Wall Street Journal's "Facebook Files." (She left of her own accord and filed at least eight SEC complaints; she was not fired.) The documents showed the company's own researchers had found Instagram worsened body-image issues for one in three teen girls, that 13.5% of UK teen girls said it worsened suicidal thoughts, and 17% said it worsened eating disorders. Leadership knew — and pressed ahead, including with a planned "Instagram for kids," later paused after the leak. Haugen's core charge: the company repeatedly chose profit over safety, and hid the evidence rather than act on it.