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The revelations of the @WSJ's Facebook Files series confirm what researchers and journalists have long suspected. There's an opportunity here for the company to change, if it seizes it, @Klonick writes: https://t.co/mUxPHdmTNi
— Siddhartha Mahanta (@sidhubaba) October 1, 2021
Great piece from someone who tells everyone she introduces me to that we met on LiveJournal. https://t.co/GEl8Z2wrOC
— Adam McCue (@mccue) October 1, 2021
#Facebook braces for new accusations from the whistleblower over the weekend. The company said in a memo that it was preparing to mount a vigorous defensehttps://t.co/r185kFi0FV via @MikeIsaac/@nytimes
— Daniel "Get a Vaccine" Zuidijk (@dzuidijk) October 2, 2021
Wait…you mean that 3 minutes from a 3 hour long hearing was used to misunderstand the very basic points that were being made about facebooks business model and then went viral when people posted it for likes and retweets? I’m shocked! Shocked I tell you! https://t.co/gw1dGG2SoY
— Adam Christensen (@AC4Congress2020) October 3, 2021
Really important read. https://t.co/VDjEUpDozP
— Sherrilyn Ifill (@Sifill_LDF) October 3, 2021
I’m glad this piece got written and agree with the ultimate point (although the “we” at the end here feels a little flimsy), but … https://t.co/xUh962wvsc pic.twitter.com/UNTd9qSUtB
— Damon Beres ? (@dlberes) October 1, 2021
This is unfortunate — execs who have traditionally defended research don’t seem to be showing up.
— Jeff Horwitz (@JeffHorwitz) October 2, 2021
There are other ways the company could have responded to the reporting. This way seems to confirm that comms comes before work. https://t.co/ajG4Nb6DR5
Exactly. And even then it’s a deceptive counter argument. Looking at the percent with those thoughts tracking back to Instagram is significantly higher. Think about what we rightly have done for lower percentages and older population from Covid. https://t.co/nOBQVbnOrN
— Jason Kint (@jason_kint) October 2, 2021
Well this is worth a read: https://t.co/D8NbuCRoqI
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) October 3, 2021
A literal republican operative (Ben Kaplan) runs Facebook’s DC office, no one should be surprised by this https://t.co/80VqjD9tBL
— Lil Brood X ? (@pleizar) October 3, 2021
Facebook is engulfed in scandal (again) over its products' impact on kids and Mark Zuckerberg wants nothing to do with it. https://t.co/5Kg7gTJRIC pic.twitter.com/0c2JF4xmXd
— Rob Price ? (@robaeprice) October 1, 2021
Yesterday’s hearing was a continuation of our legislative pursuits, but also a call to action for Facebook to get real—real fast—about change. Parents, the public, & Congress deserve the truth. We need accountability. 8
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) October 1, 2021
no justice and no good change happens without whistleblowers https://t.co/kfggWfg4A9
— Lora Kolodny (@lorakolodny) October 2, 2021
Sunday, meet the Facebook Whistleblower: a former employee who shared thousands of pages of internal research with the Securities and Exchange Commission. https://t.co/oeq8F54JGy
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 2, 2021
She's reportedly going to reveal her identity on 60 Minutes on Sunday.https://t.co/vKZiZOXxgz
— Caligirl (@caligirlinsf) October 1, 2021
Excited to see The Facebook Files making waves. If you want to catch up on the podcast series, you can listen ? https://t.co/zjbBZmxtFU https://t.co/t6Tnq5wJxv
— pia gadkari (@piagadkari) October 1, 2021
An actual tech writer who is also an actual kid explains that Finsta is a real issue and Blumenthal was right to ask about it https://t.co/G6wcUfY3Xw
— Nick Riccardi (@NickRiccardi) October 3, 2021
Sen. Blumenthal asks Facebook "Will you commit to ending Finsta?"
— Eric Morrow (@morroweric) September 30, 2021
Facebook's safety chief has to explain that Finsta is slang for a fake account. pic.twitter.com/jMYy5AIZjY
“The whistle-blower, who plans to reveal her identity during the [60 Minutes] interview, was set to say that Facebook had turned off some of its safety measures around the election — such as limits on live video — too soon after Election Day, the memo said.” https://t.co/Frz2CoLkI5
— Sanho Tree (@SanhoTree) October 3, 2021
If you still have Facebook, what’s your reason?
— Erik Reichenbach (@ErikReichenb4ch) September 30, 2021
I deleted what I could off Facebook some years ago & am really glad I did.
There are other ways to do what Facebook offers without supporting a very broken & malicious company.
Hoping @FCC can break off Instagram from FB too https://t.co/I1XMevBa34
Facebook is a loaded gun pointed at the heart of democracy. Enough “likes” & they’ll pull the trigger. https://t.co/c93x27s5CR
— Malcolm Nance (@MalcolmNance) October 3, 2021
Nick Clegg memo to Facebook employee: How to talk to your family about the fact you work for us. https://t.co/aA5GcPrsZh pic.twitter.com/ja8qKEEioL
— Alex Kantrowitz (@Kantrowitz) October 3, 2021
Fascinating thread on a whole world of trouble & pain that Facebook is in. For so long, this company has faced no consequences. That maybe about to change https://t.co/p3B5qGNP1K
— Carole Cadwalladr (@carolecadwalla) October 2, 2021
this closer from @Klonick is spot on https://t.co/8oG92dt7Zy pic.twitter.com/0RL7YaFGdo
— David Kaye (@davidakaye) October 1, 2021
Somehow this from @nickclegg leaked and now none of us are going to listen to the whistleblower?
— Kim Masters (@kimmasters) October 3, 2021
Slick, Nick. https://t.co/zi5BcMvSV0
We all know that Facebook treated protecting kids with disregard. If it had protected kids, like it did its revenue growth, it would have done a whole lot more. Instead, Facebook has evaded, misled, & deceived. 7/
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) October 1, 2021
NEWS: Whistleblower will accuse Facebook of easing safeguards that led to the January 6th Insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, according to internal memo
— rat king (@MikeIsaac) October 2, 2021
Policy VP Nick Clegg defends Facebook in a company-wide address from Friday evening, obtained by NYThttps://t.co/9fXF0ZwxOK
These verbal gymnastics illuminate nothing, which is why I would love to have @nickclegg on for a substantive full hour discussion on Sway at this important moment. Unfortunately, we get persistent declines from FB, even as they book on press with less experience in this arena.
— Kara Swisher (@karaswisher) October 3, 2021
I’m not sure Facebook’s combative counter approach is the best way to go here, especially with these selective, and vague, defenses https://t.co/MK7pDCUZlA
— Andrew Hutchinson (@adhutchinson) October 2, 2021
We, as users of Facebook, have the power to change how @Facebook operates.
— UltraViolet (Text JOIN to 98688) (@UltraViolet) October 1, 2021
Join UltraViolet, @kairos_action, @accountabletech, @dailykos, and more in our Facebook & Instagram logout campaign on November 10th >> https://t.co/Y1h1c7DrcN https://t.co/gfs0OpThHn pic.twitter.com/ae6o1WUvPc
In addition, Instagram does essentially push "Finstas" -- I have been getting prompts from Instagram in the app recently to set up secondary accounts. Anyone else? https://t.co/fgpriYN2Fn
— Donie O'Sullivan (@donie) October 1, 2021
A good piece that flags the problem with "engagement" as the top metric for optimization. I'd say that the performance management systems at technology companies – how companies measure and decide how to reward employees – is a) unexamined by lawmakers and b) the key to change. https://t.co/ih4nkEIz2c
— Jon Wiley (@jonwiley) October 1, 2021
Where are Mark and Sheryl?
— Cecilia Kang (@ceciliakang) October 2, 2021
Zuckerberg hasn't posted in days
Sandberg's post from 9/29 has scalding comments ?@Mosseri has been MIA since his week on Today Show and the Met Gala red carpet
latest on internal turmoil by @MikeIsaac @sheeraf @RMac18 https://t.co/T9tAX8EWXM
I don’t believe this premise is accurate. Reports have said she went to the SEC, too. That absolutely has to protect her but I’m not a lawyer let alone a whistleblower lawyer. https://t.co/vuedY7TTfK
— Jason Kint (@jason_kint) October 1, 2021
Regulate social media now: Whistle-Blower to Accuse Facebook of Contributing to Jan. 6 Riot, Memo Says - The New York Times https://t.co/20Sbna4vJ6
— Frank Figliuzzi (@FrankFigliuzzi1) October 3, 2021
(set record) https://t.co/QQSRSRZceH pic.twitter.com/UnnTZOP9sk
— Jason Kint (@jason_kint) October 2, 2021
Great piece from @FBoversight’s teen protégée @zamaan_qureshi on the ‘finsta’ phenomenon among teenagers (fake Instagram accounts to you & me)
— Carole Cadwalladr (@carolecadwalla) October 2, 2021
https://t.co/3qJr9rO95z
It's odd reading this internal note from Facebook Vice President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg and seeing how it mimics past leaked talking points from the company.https://t.co/NN0mYcvIaD
— Ryan Mac ? (@RMac18) October 3, 2021
When Facebook received no real consequences for Cambridge Analytica, I think that should’ve signaled that they were and will continue to get away with worse. https://t.co/z10zc17bdS
— Patience. (@patiencezalanga) October 2, 2021
Exactly! Excellent thread from Senator who led yesterday’s hearing. https://t.co/O99NhApvJS
— Carole Cadwalladr (@carolecadwalla) October 1, 2021
We now know while Facebook publicly denies that Instagram is deeply harmful for teens, privately Facebook researchers/experts have been ringing the alarm. 2/
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) October 1, 2021
Great piece and I agree with most of it, but I don’t think the solution is merely “more and better” people - it’s true diversity and radical inclusion, something Facebook has always failed at. https://t.co/04pZrQsIgs
— Chillian J. Yikes! (@jilliancyork) October 1, 2021
Wow. Wahala be like bicycle in Mark and Sheryl's world.? https://t.co/DOawIPQa1W
— Dr Ola Brown (@NaijaFlyingDr) October 3, 2021
Watch 60 Minutes at 7:30pm tonight immediately after the NFL game. Trust me. https://t.co/QQSRSRZceH pic.twitter.com/pgQ3eBYtdd
— Jason Kint (@jason_kint) October 3, 2021
This thread outlines a dozen different fundamental flaws in & challenges to Facebook's existence
— Joe Cardillo (@joecardillo) October 3, 2021
This is not a PR moment, it is a 50 ft wave of years of corruption within the company https://t.co/gp6QtoYt24
Awesome dunking on a clip w/o context. Right before this, Blumenthal notes that "finstas" are fake Instagram accts and outlines the financial incentive to turn a blind eye to multiple accts, regardless of the safety implications.
— Cody Venzke (@venzkec) September 30, 2021
Starts at 01:17:20: https://t.co/SKjpmbesRA https://t.co/Dryr2K5mnk
Facebook, they’re not just spreading disinformation about the vaccine they’re also involved in the insurrection. https://t.co/mZnwUAla1I
— Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) October 3, 2021
Until Facebook reckons with the fact that everyone judges them on content moderation because it’s the only product it actually makes, they will forever be trapped trying to deflect attention from its own product to other people’s work
— nilay patel (@reckless) October 3, 2021
Part of Nick Clegg’s preemptive response to the FB whistleblower: “Indeed, polarizing content and misinformation are also present on platforms that have no algorithmic ranking whatsoever, including private messaging apps like iMessage and WhatsApp.” But… https://t.co/xx3isMVkgL
— Kate Starbird (@katestarbird) October 3, 2021
?from @gruber
— Martin Fowler (@martinfowler) October 3, 2021
“Their research shows that Facebook is doing harm to society and harm to teenagers, but what makes them threaten to leave is having their work disparaged? What a magnet for sociopaths this company is.”https://t.co/VJUPmI3Kvn
Thread: If trending can get more people interested in discussing Facebook’s heinous wrongs, let’s talk about it. This month a whistleblower approached my office to provide reports & documents about Facebook & Instagram. What they reveal is damning. 1/
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) October 1, 2021
Inside Facebook, executives have called a series of emergency meetings to try to extinguish some of the outrage.
— Prairy? (@PrairyFyre) October 2, 2021
The firestorm is far from over.
This Sunday night, the ex-employee who leaked internal company material will appear on 60 Minutes on CBS.https://t.co/jVmynX0XOe
Hatebook needs to hire better spinners. How much do they pay their strategists?
— Farah Pandith (@Farah_Pandith) October 3, 2021
This is honestly just pathetic:
he said that societal problems and political polarization have long predated the company and the advent of social networks in general. https://t.co/QdPj5sxClk
Embarrassing how the tech leaders run circles around so many senators. https://t.co/OoXM2W42xF
— J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) October 1, 2021
Will you release all the Facebook research? Asks @brianstelter
— Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) October 3, 2021
And the answer is …. No
This op-ed by @Klonick raises something I’ve been thinking about around news as well. Is user engagement (in its many flavors) always the right metric for us to chase when thinking about healthy audiences? https://t.co/v9hArZH3H0 pic.twitter.com/4NKCXncFDX
— Phoebe Connelly (@phoebedoris) October 3, 2021
"As a matter of optics, it could be disastrous for Facebook, but they seem not to care about that, and they are not very adept at avoiding disastrous optics."https://t.co/V6vlO4obk0
— Bobby Allyn (@BobbyAllyn) October 1, 2021
Thread. Shorter version: Facebook, you in trouble, gurl. https://t.co/mzmjidQRkI
— Anita Creamer (@AnitaCreamer) October 3, 2021
Facebook has chosen growth over children’s mental health & wellbeing. Greed over preventing the suffering of children. 6/
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) October 1, 2021
Facebook employees freaking out that social media is bad for teens while it’s just another Sunday at XBox Live, TikTok & Snapchat reminds me of Google employees staging walkouts over work considered mundane at Microsoft & Amazon.
— Dare Obasanjo (@Carnage4Life) October 3, 2021
It’s all about expectation setting or mis-setting
The senator is apparently talking about his "finsta" flub yesterday, which was one of the top trending Twitter topics.
— Steve Kovach (@stevekovach) October 1, 2021
It was a funny moment for sure.
But overall, the questioning from senators, including Blumenthal, in the hearing was the best we've seen yet. https://t.co/VDoTBDhsRh
"The whistle-blower was set to say that Facebook had turned off some of its safety measures too soon after Election Day, the memo said. That allowed for misinformation to flood the platform and for groups to congregate online and plan the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol building."
— Trip Gabriel (@tripgabriel) October 3, 2021
In the transformation of tv, people often forget just how many people still tune in to 60 Minutes on NFL Sundays especially when they bridge to a topic of interest across generations. Instagram + whistleblower + scandal is gold for ratings, very bad for Facebook. @brianstelter https://t.co/QQSRSRZceH
— Jason Kint (@jason_kint) October 2, 2021
Clegg posted the memo internally to employees on Friday evening, after the Times published a story about the past three weeks of emergency meetings and tumult at the companyhttps://t.co/o4AMDwneJU
— rat king (@MikeIsaac) October 2, 2021
“They are making a mockery of the research” — Yeah, about those annotations Facebook provided... https://t.co/mKnPf0Qtl7
— Lia Haberman (@liahaberman) October 3, 2021
FB reporters now in full Rambo mode.
— Antonio García Martínez (@antoniogm) October 3, 2021
It even matches the jacket. https://t.co/G1FEtI2AaA
Facebook has asked us to trust it, but after these evasions & revelations, why should we?
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) October 1, 2021
It’s clear that Facebook has done nothing to earn that trust. Not from us, not from parents, not from the public. 4/
Watching Nick Clegg talk to @brianstelter this morning makes it profoundly obvious Facebook still has not realized the only product it actually makes is content moderation.
— nilay patel (@reckless) October 3, 2021
Everything else is a mechanism to convince *other people* to make content.
My book about anonymous speech comes out in March, so we should have about 30 bills proposing real name requirements by June. https://t.co/MFNZFV1pvT
— Jeff Kosseff (@jkosseff) September 30, 2021
"Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg have...remained behind the scenes to distance themselves from the negative press." https://t.co/GTBQg2a7ll
— Trip Gabriel (@tripgabriel) October 3, 2021
It is a little odd that Facebook would bother to research whether or not their product is harmful given that the answer obviously isn’t going to alter their decision-making. What was the point? https://t.co/Uja20hRwuj
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) October 3, 2021
“Whistle-blowing gets us halfway there. We have to do the rest.” https://t.co/n5orynVnKo
— Martin Kessler (@MartinKessler91) October 1, 2021
FB's top two execs have said nothing publicly about the crisis. Zuckerberg's only public comment about any reporting has been about his hydrofoil, while he's posted about new gadgets. Sandberg held a small business panel. How long can they remain quiet?https://t.co/hjn3ziVPHX pic.twitter.com/mi37NJXB4I
— Ryan Mac ? (@RMac18) October 1, 2021
In truth, Facebook is using Big Tobacco’s playbook. By hiding its own research on addiction & the toxic effects of its products, it has attempted to deceive the public & Congress about what it knows, while weaponizing childhood vulnerabilities against kids. 5/
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) October 1, 2021
FaceBook is a profoundly unethical company and it starts at the top, with Mark. https://t.co/qIfGLABVGS
— Grady Booch (@Grady_Booch) October 3, 2021
We now know that Facebook routinely puts profits ahead of kids’ online safety.
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) October 1, 2021
We know it chooses the growth of its products over the well-being of our children.
We now know it is indefensibly delinquent in acting to protect kids. 3/
Richard Blumenthal Was Right to Ask Facebook About “Ending Finsta”
— Jon Cooper ?? (@joncoopertweets) October 3, 2021
Despite the mockery from experts, the senator knew what he was talking about.https://t.co/2I9yvXgCT6
A plea before the whistleblower speaks tonight: don’t fall for Facebook‘s playbook of changing the conversation to be about her instead of about the documents she exposed. Any journalist/commentator who allows this to happen is doing a disservice. Speaking out is hard. Full stop. https://t.co/5mTbxBazpV
— Yael Eisenstat (@YaelEisenstat) October 3, 2021
read the memo in full, which we've embedded in the story belowhttps://t.co/9fXF0ZwxOK
— rat king (@MikeIsaac) October 2, 2021
"The whistle-blower was also set to say that Facebook then reaped record profits as its users flocked to the divisive content" https://t.co/bzfwRpvQgw
— Blake Montgomery (@blakersdozen) October 2, 2021
Facebook employees should be embarrassed.
— Accountable Tech (@accountabletech) October 2, 2021
"In one group text message chain shared with The New York Times, Facebook data scientists and researchers discussed how they were being 'embarrassed' by their own employer."https://t.co/cwE1aA9fWe
Imagine criticizing Apple for the iPhone taking blurry photos and Apple replying that, on balance, people still use the iPhone to take photos of their families. That’s Facebook right now.
— nilay patel (@reckless) October 3, 2021
Since Instagram has roughly 1 billion users, and Facebook knows - from its *own* research - that 3% of them are suffering mental health problems because of the app, that's around 30 million people. https://t.co/iMLHtKLfxr
— Mike Butcher (@mikebutcher) October 2, 2021
I'll be asking @NickClegg about this on @ReliableSources in the AM... https://t.co/Q2AcKfJsvQ
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) October 3, 2021
I wrote @nytopinion about some of the long term takeaways for reform that came out of @JeffHorwitz's great Facebook Files series at @WSJ
— Kate Klonick (@Klonick) October 1, 2021
Special thanks to @alexstamos & @jilliancyork who both gave me great thoughts and/or quotes that unfortunately got cuthttps://t.co/areMqXZZ4y
“If Instagram can cause 3 percent of our users to report strongly negative thoughts (depression, anxiety, self-harm), I think that’s a problem worth looking into,” one employee wrote.
— Roger McNamee (@Moonalice) October 1, 2021
Instagram has roughly 1 billion users, so 3% is 30 million kids. https://t.co/jJr4TNm8iR
When you lay it out like this it sounds bad. https://t.co/4VuPBu1G8R
— John Panzer (@jpanzer) October 3, 2021
“The former employee says the documents prove the company knows its algorithms amplify polarizing and hateful content, adding that societies around the world are being torn apart.. Profit outweighs safety on Facebook, according to the former employee.” https://t.co/neMupKdu4M
— Melissa Ross (@MelissainJax) October 2, 2021
Damn. This is a siege https://t.co/QcJiH9vppV
— Venkatesh Rao (@vgr) October 3, 2021
Clever Clegg, but no one thinks FB is the PRIMARY cause, tho size creates an amplifier of unprecedented power: “What evidence there is simply does not support the idea that Facebook, or social media more generally, is the primary cause of polarization.” https://t.co/PQUR4EqG6l
— Kara Swisher (@karaswisher) October 3, 2021
Facebook Exec Confronted With Report of Whistleblower Saying the Site Contributed to January 6 Riots https://t.co/jFgSXhqCPd #SmartNews
— Janice Jhana Elks?? (@OMAHAGEMGIRL) October 3, 2021
Facebook whistleblower to accuse company of fueling Jan. 6 Capitol riot https://t.co/dyjKD7sqii pic.twitter.com/R918eWJpo1
— New York Post (@nypost) October 3, 2021
Facebook whistleblower to accuse company of fueling Jan. 6 Capitol riot https://t.co/XT74DNik62 via @nypost
— Chris ?? (@Chris_1791) October 3, 2021
See also—
— Zach Everson (@Z_Everson) October 1, 2021
"Facebook spent $9.5 million on federal lobbying in the first half of 2021"@IsaiahPoritz for @OpenSecretsDChttps://t.co/DnfZ1hn656
#ZuckerbergIsATraitor Facebook Whistleblower Expected To Say Company Contributed To Capitol Riots on '60 Minutes' - Benzinga https://t.co/UjM2nXpRFR
— Richard Marx (@richardmarx) October 3, 2021
Not surprising. Mark Zuckerberg clearly stated it’s OK to run a political ad that lies (knowing full well that lying is a Republican staple)
— BigBlueWaveUSA 2022 #StopVoterSuppression (@BigBlueWaveUSA) October 3, 2021
Promoting/funding/supporting the #CapitolRiot is almost a given for Zuckerberg. Now there’s evidence and a witness https://t.co/ypz6xn20rP
She said the internal documents show that the company is aware that its practices “amplify” polarization and spread hate in society, but looks the other way for profit.https://t.co/Qkovk3GPly
— James Plowman (@plowmanj3) October 3, 2021
Facebook whistleblower to accuse company of fueling Jan. 6 Capitol riot https://t.co/ipfM1e3Mnm via @nypost
— Robert Passaro ???? (@Passaro5738) October 3, 2021