A Facebook whistleblower finally revealed her identity during an interview on Sunday.
Frances Haugen, 37, worked at Facebook as a product manager on the company's civic misinformation team during the 2020 election.
Before she resigned from her post on May 6, she decided to copy thousands of internal documents that would expose what was happening within the company. During her interview on "60 Minutes," Haugen said that she became so disturbed by the actions of Facebook last year that's why she decided to leak the documents to lawmakers and regulators.
Facebook allegedly lied about making progress on social issues
The former Facebook employee's evidence reportedly showed that Facebook has been lying about making significant progress on important social issues such as hate, violence, and misinformation. Haugen and her lawyers also claimed that Facebook lied to their investors about their actions.
Facebook allegedly only focused on making a revenue
According to the whistleblower, Facebook only focuses on one thing, and that is to make money. And they will optimize online engagement for their interest.
"When we live in a data environment that is full of angry, hateful, polarizing content it destroys our civic trust, it consumes our trust in each other, it erodes our ability to desire to care for each other. The version of Facebook that exists now is tearing our societies apart and causing ethnic violence throughout the world," Haugen said via the Huffington Post.
Haugen also slammed Facebook for dropping election safety protocols that were part of the "Civic Integrity" program too quickly. After all, Facebook was used to plan the Jan. 6 Capitol riot that could have otherwise been prevented.
Prior to her appearance in the documentary, Facebook released a statement saying that the evidence shown does not show that Facebook and other social media platforms are the primary cause of polarization.
'The Facebook Files' detail alleged lies made by the company
Nick Clegg signed the memo via The New York Times, Facebook's vice president of policy and global affairs, also said that the increase in polarization in the US dates back to a time even before the advent of social media.
Before Haugen's identity as Facebook's whistleblower was made public, she also shared the internal documents that she gathered with one publication.
The Wall Street Journal published a series of stories called "The Facebook Files," and they revealed Haugen's claims.
According to the report, Facebook claims that its rules apply to all users. However, Haugen's documents show that some companies are exempt from the rules.
Facebook uses a cross-check of the XCheck system to perform quality control measures for high-profile accounts. This reportedly shields several VIPs from the company's normal enforcement. And some of these VIPs allegedly use the exemption incite violence and harassment.
The documents also alleged that Facebook knows Instagram is toxic for many teen girls suffering from body image issues. But in public, Facebook has allegedly been downplaying the negative effects of Instagram.
And when Facebook tried to make its platform healthier, they failed. Instead, the platform became an angrier place for everyone.
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