Story at a glance
- The Facebook whistleblower identified herself publicly during an interview with “60 Minutes” on Sunday.
- Frances Haugen, 37, spoke to “60 Minutes” about what led her to quit her job at Facebook after 15 years in May.
- Haugen will be testifying about Facebook’s practices and misinformation on the site before Congress on Tuesday.
The Facebook whistleblower, who will be testifying before Congress on Tuesday, identified herself publicly during an interview with “60 Minutes” on Sunday.
Frances Haugen, 37, spoke to “60 Minutes” about what led her to quit her job at Facebook after 15 years in May, following what she claims were “systemic” problems with the social media’s algorithms and Facebook’s willingness to allow “angry content” and misinformation to spread and be promoted for its own gain.
“Facebook’s mission is to connect people all around the world,” said Haugen. “When you have a system that you know can be hacked with anger, it’s easier to provoke people into anger. And publishers are saying, ‘Oh, if I do more angry, polarizing, divisive content, I get more money.’ Facebook has set up a system of incentives that is pulling people apart.”
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Prior to leaving Facebook, Haugen copied thousands of internal documents from the company that she says shows Facebook’s inaction, and as well as occasional promotion, on misinformation, such as that surrounding the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
“Facebook, over and over again, chose to optimize for its own interests, like making more money,” said Haugen.
“Facebook has realized that if they change the algorithm to be safer, people will spend less time on the site, they’ll click on less ads, they’ll make less money,” she added.
“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,” Facebook said in a statement to “60 Minutes.” “If any research had identified an exact solution to these complex challenges, the tech industry, governments, and society would have solved them a long time ago.”
Haugen is set to testify about Facebook and social media and its effects on children before Congress on Tuesday at 10 a.m.
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