The Facebook Papers And Virtual Hate: 5 Things To Know

ACROSS AMERICA — If you haven't heard the name Frances Haugen, you probably will soon. Haugen quit her lucrative job at Facebook earlier this year to be a whistleblower, claiming Facebook paid scientists to study hate and its users' mental health in the name of making money. She claimed the company fuels and profits from virtual hate and bullying.

Haugen leaked Facebook documents, now called the Facebook Papers or Facebook Files, to The Wall Street Journal, which published stories in late September outlining Haugen's concerns. She also spoke to CBS' "60 Minutes" and testified before Congress early this month.

Here are five key things to know about Haugen and the Facebook Papers:

1. Who is Frances Haugen?

Frances Haugen is a 37-year-old former Facebook employee who quit her six-figure job to leak documents called the Facebook Papers to the media, claiming the company fuels and profits from online hate.

Haugen was a product manager whose job was to protect against election interference on Facebook.

2. What are the Facebook Papers?

They area a series of documents that Haugen claims shows Facebook paid scientists to study hate and mental health among its users with the ultimate goal of manipulating people to spend more time on the site, increasing its revenue.

Haugen also claims the documents show executives reviewed a study that Instagram can damage teenagers' self-worth, the company was slow to address concerns about human traffickers and drug cartels, and the revelation of a lawsuit against CEO Mark Zuckerberg over the Cambridge Analytica data scandal.

3. What is Frances Haugen saying about the Facebook Papers?

Haugen testified on Capitol Hill earlier this month and, on Monday, she told lawmakers in the United Kingdom — who are working on legislation to address online hate and bullying — that Facebook is making online hate and extremism worse across the planet.

“Unquestionably, it’s making hate worse,” Haugen said.

She added that she was "shocked" Facebook is hiring 10,000 workers in Europe to work on the metaverse, an immersive online world the company claims is the next big online trend. “I was like, ‘Wow, do you know what we could have done with safety if we had 10,000 more engineers?’ It would be amazing,” Haugen told U.K. lawmakers.

4. How is Facebook responding to Frances Haugen and the Facebook Papers?

Zuckerberg and Facebook executives categorically deny Haugen's claims.

“I think most of us just don’t recognize the false picture of the company that is being painted,” Zuckerberg told employees earlier this month in a memo. Some lawmakers are demanding Zuckerberg testify in front of Congress again about this latest scandal.

Executive Monika Bickert claimed Haugen "stole" the Facebook Papers.

Asked by The Associated Press if Facebook would sue or retaliate against Haugen, Bickert said only, “I can’t answer that.”

5. Could the Facebook Papers bring down Facebook?

Not likely. Young people are ditching Facebook in droves for Instagram, which is also owned by Facebook.

But Jason Miller, the CEO of Gettr, a conservative social media site, thinks otherwise and said the Facebook Papers will be the company's downfall.

"I think this is very similar to the Goths sacking Rome," Miller told Fox. "I think this is the beginning of the end for Facebook ... I think most people didn't realize the consolidation of Big Tech in their control over your data, with Facebook owning Instagram, owning WhatsApp, of course, with Facebook Messenger."

Read also: Who Is Frances Haugen? How A Whistleblower Is Taking On Facebook