Facebook Prefers Profit over Blocking Hate and Misinformation, says Former Employee

Facebook prioritizes profit over removing misinformation and hatred from its platform. The reason is that users are encouraged to argue, refute, quarrel with each other, which helps social media activity and is good for advertisers.

At least eight complaints have been filed with the U.S. Federal Securities and Exchange Commission by lawyers of Francis Haugan, a former Facebook employee. She gave an interview to the popular TV show "60 Minutes", revealing that she is the source of the company's documents, which she takes with her when she leaves in May.

This led to a Wall Street Journal publication and a Senate hearing that the company knew that their Instagram policy led to mental harassment and frustration, mainly among young girls with photo-sharing profiles.

Haugan worked as a product manager on a team that misinformed citizens. She spoke to CBS at a time when the Wall Street Journal was making a series of posts showing that Facebook was contributing to political divisions, growing polarization of opinions and actions online when it changed its content algorithm, and failing to cross anti-wax conspiracy theories. "Facebook has learned that if they change their algorithm to more security, people will spend less time on the site, click on fewer ads and the company will make less money," she explained.

On Tuesday, Haugan will testify before a Senate subcommittee hearing on "Protecting Children Online." There is a conflict of interest between what is good for society and what is good for Facebook. "In favor of your own interest and making more money," she was quoted as saying by Reuters.

She has previously worked for Google and Pinterest and claims that Facebook is lying to the public that it has made progress in...