Mark Zuckerberg Hits Back at Facebook Whistleblower, Says Claims 'Don't Make Any Sense'

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has refuted whistleblower Frances Haugen's claims, saying many of these allegations "don't make any sense."

New York Post reported that Zuckerberg wrote a note to employees that he then posted on his Facebook account on Tuesday, saying that he "wanted to share" his thoughts to the public.

Facebook CEO Reacts on Accusations of Whistleblower

Mark Zuckerberg's statement came hours after Frances Haugen, a former Facebook product manager, testified before Congress about a trove of internal documents she gave to The Wall Street Journal.

The hearing's focus was on the social media giant's internal research that showed Instagram could have a negative effect on young individuals.

Haugen's main argument was that Facebook prioritizes profits over the safety of its users, particularly its most vulnerable and youngest, The Verge reported.

Zuckerberg said this claim was "deeply illogical" as they care deeply about safety, well-being, and mental health issues.

"If we didn't care about fighting harmful content, then why would we employ so many more people dedicated to this than any other company in our space - even ones larger than us?" the Facebook CEO wrote.

Zuckerberg further noted that if they wanted to hide the results of their research, "why would we have established an industry-leading standard for transparency and reporting on what we're doing?"

Zuckerberg then mentioned that the company introduced the "Meaningful Social Interactions change" to News Feed. The said change enabled more contents from family and friends to appear than the viral videos online.

"We did [it] knowing it would mean people spent less time on Facebook, but that research suggested it was the right thing for people's well-being. Is that something a company focused on profits over people would do?" the Facebook CEO said.

Congress Demands Answers From Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg

Congress is demanding answers from Mark Zuckerberg after the Facebook whistleblower testified. Senator Richard Blumenthal, the subcommittee chair that held the hearing, called on the Facebook CEO to appear before them.

"Mark Zuckerberg, you need to come before this committee... you need to explain to Frances Haugen, to us, to the world, and to the parents of America what you were doing," Blumenthal noted.

Facebook's internal research about Instagram's negative effects on teens has fueled anger towards the firm and prompted calls to publish more studies for independent experts to evaluate.

In his lengthy post, Zuckerberg said he "found it difficult to read the mischaracterization of the research" into how Instagram affects young people.

According to the Facebook CEO, the study "actually demonstrated that many teens they heard from feel that using Instagram helps them when struggling with the "kinds of hard moments and issues teenagers have always faced."

Mark Zuckerberg went on to say that more teenage girls who said they struggled with anxiety, sadness and eating issues, among others, also said Instagram made those "difficult times better rather than worse."

"We have worked for years on industry-leading efforts to help people in these moments and I'm proud of the work we've done. We constantly use our research to improve this work further," the Facebook CEO added.

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written by: Joshua Summers

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