According to new research, Facebook lobbyists tried to avoid criticism by using partisan rancor in response to devastating whistleblower leaks. Half of employees believe it does not contribute to the societal good.
According to Wall Street Journal reports, after Frances Haugen, a former employee of Facebook, came forward with thousands of documents from internal investigations in October, lobbyists for the company rang up furiously to call Republican legislators and advocacy groups to claim that she was pushing a liberal agenda.
Within days, similar claims began to appear in certain conservative-leaning publications, including articles calling Haugen ‘the frontwoman of a PR campaign pushed by the Democratic party,’ a ‘leftist activist’ and someone who is ‘part of a broader Democratic initiative.’
According to the Journal, Facebook was quick to try and light the lamp at the other end. They called up Democrats in Congress, suggesting that Republicans weren’t upset by Facebook’s ban on support expressions for Kyle Rittenhouse. The teen was eventually acquitted in Wisconsin of murder.
According to the alleged strategy, it was an attempt to exploit partisan wedges to prevent any united government response. This would have led to suspicions about Haugen in a political climate already highly polarized.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg spearheaded a sharp-elbowed response to whistleblower allegations, with company lobbyists reportedly using partisan rancor

Frances Haugen, a former employee of Facebook came forward with thousands upon thousands of documents from her internal files in October. Company lobbyists began to work the phones relentlessly

Facebook workers are shown in a photo. An internal survey found that 50% of employees doubt the company’s contribution to social goodness after the revelations.
Haugen’s shocking revelations spurred negative reports that Facebook algorithms encourage discord. Its own research concluded that Instagram and other platforms can harm teens’ mental health.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, led a determined response. He refused to publicly apologize and changed the name of his company to Meta in order to emphasize his commitment to building a virtual reality metaverse.
Facebook spokeswoman told the Journal, “When our work gets mischaracterized, it’s not going to be an apology.” “We will defend our record.
But internally, the revelations appear to have fostered some level of bitterness, and more than half a doze Meta executives and other senior employees have either left the company or announced their departures.
Following the revelations about Samidh Chakrabarti’s founding of Facebook’s Civic-Integrity team, he has now become a vocal critic on Twitter.
On Wednesday, he responded to the Facebook report about lobbying. He wrote: ‘Meta’s misleading spin of the FB Files in partisan conspiracy as a partisan conspiracy doesn’t just make no sense, it’s also a case of short-term thinking.
Chakrabarti said that while regulation might be avoided for the moment, it makes recruiting new employees more difficult without any shame.
An official from Facebook did not respond immediately to a DailyMail.com request for comment on Thursday morning.

Samidh Chkrabarti founded Facebook’s Civic-Integrity team. She left Facebook earlier in this year to criticize the company’s alleged lobbying.

Haugen testified in front of European, British and American lawmakers that company systems amplify extremism and that profits are more important than user safety.
Surveys conducted by Facebook in weeks after Haugen’s disclosures found that employee optimism fell 10 percent. However, other groups showed an unhappy workforce according to the Journal.
Just under half of employees said they believed Facebook contributed to social good, and roughly the same amount said they had confidence in leadership.
But employee worries shifted quickly from social issues to focus on compensation and benefits. Within a few months, questions regarding these topics surpassed the concerns of executives who submitted them weekly to town hall meetings.
According to the Journal, the Journal on November 18 reported the top question as: “Will our yearly salaries rise in line with the rising levels of inflation that we have been witnessing?”
The board of directors at Facebook has shown its support for Zuckerberg’s crisis response. This is an important sign of support.
Earlier this month, the board met for its annual retreat at Zuckerberg’s lavish 1,300-acre beachfront estate in Kauai, Hawaii

The Meta board had a meeting earlier this month at Zuckerberg’s 1,300-acre estate on Kauai. Directors expressed their support for the CEO.


Marc Andreessen (left), and Peter Thiel (right), who were long-time directors, were said to be the most vocal about encouraging Zuckerberg’s sharp-elbowed responses.

Nick Clegg was the former deputy prime minister of United Kingdom, Meta vice-president, global affairs. He warned against any new regulation, saying that it could be “rushed through in anger”.
According to Journal sources, the Directors supported Zuckerberg’s decision and pivoting to concentrate on the metaverse despite the difficulties.
Among board members, longtime directors Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen were the most vocal in encouraging Zuckerberg’s sharp-elbowed response, the outlet reported.
Haugen’s documents leaked by Haugen, first reported by The Journal, triggered a wave government backlash. This included four congressional hearings, and a bipartisan investigation of state attorneys general.
Haugen has testified before lawmakers in the U.S., Britain and Europe that that the company’s algorithms amplify extremism and that the company elevates profits over the user safety.
Meta vice-president for global affairs, and former United Kingdom deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, warned against new regulation saying it risks being ‘rushed through in anger’.
“We will see in the coming years new legislation in India and Australia, in Australia, UK, EU, maybe in the US,” he said to an Australian Strategic Policy Institute forum.
“It’s already in the books. It’s still in the pipeline.
“Some of it I believe is very good. I don’t think all of it is very good. Some parts are rushed in anger.