News

Ex-Facebook Manager Criticizes Company, Urges More Oversight

Published

4 years ago

October 6, 2021

While accusing the giant social network of pursuing profits over safety, a former Facebook data scientist told Congress Tuesday she believes stricter government oversight could alleviate the dangers the company poses, from harming children to inciting political violence to fueling misinformation.

Frances Haugen, testifying to the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, presented a wide-ranging condemnation of Facebook.
She accused the company of failing to make changes to Instagram after internal research showed apparent harm to some teens and being dishonest in its public fight against hate and misinformation.

Haugen’s accusations were buttressed by tens of thousands of pages of internal research documents she secretly copied before leaving her job in the company’s civic integrity unit.

But she also offered thoughtful ideas about how Facebook’s social media platforms could be made safer.

Haugen laid responsibility for the company’s profits-over-safety strategy right at the top, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg, but she also expressed empathy for Facebook’s dilemma.

Haugen, who says she joined the company in 2019 because “Facebook has the potential to bring out the best in us,” said she didn’t leak internal documents to a newspaper and then come before Congress in order to destroy the company or call for its breakup, as many consumer advocates and lawmakers of both parties have called for.

Haugen is a 37-year-old data expert from Iowa with a degree in computer engineering and a master’s degree in business from Harvard. Prior to being recruited by Facebook, she worked for 15 years at tech companies including Google, Pinterest and Yelp.

“Facebook’s products harm children, stoke division and weaken our democracy,” Haugen said. “The company’s leadership knows how to make Facebook and Instagram safer but won’t make the necessary changes because they have put their astronomical profits before people.”

“Congressional action is needed,” she said. “They won’t solve this crisis without your help.”

In a note to Facebook employees Tuesday, Zuckerberg disputed Haugen’s portrayal of the company as one that puts profit over the well-being of its users, or that pushes divisive content.

“At the most basic level, I think most of us just don’t recognize the false picture of the company that is being painted,” Zuckerberg wrote.

He did, however, appear to agree with Haugen on the need for updated internet regulations, saying that would relieve private companies from having to make decisions on social issues on their own.

“We’re committed to doing the best work we can, but at some level the right body to assess tradeoffs between social equities is our democratically elected Congress,” Zuckerberg wrote.

Democrats and Republicans have shown a rare unity around the revelations of Facebook’s handling of potential risks to teens from Instagram, and bipartisan bills have proliferated to address social media and data-privacy problems. But getting legislation through Congress is a heavy slog. The Federal Trade Commission has taken a stricter stance toward Facebook and other tech giants in recent years.

“Whenever you have Republicans and Democrats on the same page, you’re probably more likely to see something,” said Gautam Hans, a technology law and free speech expert at Vanderbilt University

Haugen suggested, for example, that the minimum age for Facebook’s popular Instagram photo-sharing platform could be increased from the current 13 to 16 or 18.

She also acknowledged the limitations of possible remedies. Facebook, like other social media companies, uses algorithms to rank and recommend content to users’ news feeds. When the ranking is based on engagement — likes, shares and comments — as it is now with Facebook, users can be vulnerable to manipulation and misinformation. Haugen would prefer the ranking to be chronological. But, she testified, “People will choose the more addictive option even if it is leading their daughters to eating disorders.”

Haugen said a 2018 change to the content flow contributed to more divisiveness and ill will in a network ostensibly created to bring people closer together.

Despite the enmity that the new algorithms were feeding, she said Facebook found that they helped keep people coming back — a pattern that helped the social media giant sell more of the digital ads that generate the vast majority of its revenue.

Haugen said she believed Facebook didn’t set out to build a destructive platform. “I have a huge amount of empathy for Facebook,” she said. “These are really hard questions, and I think they feel a little trapped and isolated.”

But “in the end, the buck stops with Mark,” Haugen said, referring to Zuckerberg, who controls more than 50% of Facebook’s voting shares. “There is no one currently holding Mark accountable but himself.”

Haugen said she believed that Zuckerberg was familiar with some of the internal research showing concerns for potential negative impacts of Instagram.

The subcommittee is examining Facebook’s use of information its own researchers compiled about Instagram. Those findings could indicate potential harm for some of its young users, especially girls, although Facebook publicly downplayed possible negative impacts. For some of the teens devoted to Facebook’s popular photo-sharing platform, the peer pressure generated by the visually focused Instagram led to mental health and body-image problems, and in some cases, eating disorders and suicidal thoughts, the research leaked by Haugen showed.

One internal study cited 13.5% of teen girls saying Instagram makes thoughts of suicide worse and 17% of teen girls saying it makes eating disorders worse.

She also has filed complaints with federal authorities alleging that Facebook’s own research shows that it amplifies hate, misinformation and political unrest, but that the company hides what it knows.

After recent reports in The Wall Street Journal based on documents she leaked to the newspaper raised a public outcry, Haugen revealed her identity in a CBS “60 Minutes” interview aired Sunday night.

As the public relations debacle over the Instagram research grew last week, Facebook put on hold its work on a kids’ version of Instagram, which the company says is meant mainly for tweens aged 10 to 12.

Haugen said that Facebook prematurely turned off safeguards designed to thwart misinformation and incitement to violence after Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in last year’s presidential election, alleging that doing so contributed to the deadly Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol.

After the November election, Facebook dissolved the civic integrity unit where Haugen had been working. That was the moment, she said, when she realized that “I don’t trust that they’re willing to actually invest what needs to be invested to keep Facebook from being dangerous.”

Haugen says she told Facebook executives when they recruited her that she wanted to work in an area of the company that fights misinformation, because she had lost a friend to online conspiracy theories.

Facebook maintains that Haugen’s allegations are misleading and insists there is no evidence to support the premise that it is the primary cause of social polarization.

“Today, a Senate Commerce subcommittee held a hearing with a former product manager at Facebook who worked for the company for less than two years, had no direct reports, never attended a decision-point meeting with (top) executives – and testified more than six times to not working on the subject matter in question. We don’t agree with her characterization of the many issues she testified about,” the company said in a statement.

(AP)

News

Why I Returned To Nigeria On Ivorian Jet — Jonathan

Published

3 hours ago

November 29, 2025

Editor

Jonathan has explained why he returned to Nigeria aboard an Ivorian aircraft following the recent political unrest in Guinea-Bissau, saying President Bola Tinubu had also prepared to dispatch a jet before Côte d’Ivoire secured an earlier landing permit.

Jonathan, who was in the country as head of the West African Elders Forum Election Observation Mission, spoke in an interview with Symfoni posted on YouTube on Friday, his first public comment since gunfire erupted around key government institutions in Bissau, prompting reports of a possible coup.

He said he felt compelled to speak “to thank Nigerians for the show of empathy and encouragement” after the incident, noting that he was aware of the national anxiety that followed the reports.

“While we were in Bissau and this so-called coup happened, the information we got was that the whole country was agitated, young and old, irrespective of religious or political divides,” he said.

According to him, both President Tinubu and Côte d’Ivoire’s President Alassane Ouattara made arrangements to evacuate him and his delegation from Bissau.

However, the Ivorian team secured landing clearance first due to what he described as stronger regional links.

“And I sincerely appreciate Nigerians, and I want them to hear directly from my mouth to appreciate their concern. And secondly, to thank my president, President Tinubu, and the Ivorian president, President Ouattara.

“Both presidents were to send aircraft to lift us, but somehow you know Côte d’Ivoire is closer to Guinea-Bissau, and there’s always some relationship between the Francophone countries and the Lusophones, who are among the Francophones.

“They were able to penetrate their system to get a a landing permit before Nigeria could do that. So the Ivorian aircraft was already on its way to pick us up,” he said.

He explained that Côte d’Ivoire’s aircraft was already en route when he was informed that the Nigerian jet had received approval to depart.

“So when we learnt that the Nigerian aircraft were about leaving, we asked them not to bother. That is why, if you see the pictures, I was brought by an Ivorian aircraft,” he said.

Jonathan thanked the two West African leaders “and indeed Nigerians, young and old” for their concern during the episode.

“So we thank the two presidents, President Wachara and President Tinubu, and indeed thank Nigerians, young and old, for that,” he said.

News

Guinea-Bissau Military Takeover Is ‘Ceremonial Coup’ – Jonathan

Published

3 hours ago

November 29, 2025

Editor

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has insisted that the recent military coup in Guinea-Bissau “was not a coup” and described it as “maybe a ceremonial coup.”

Gunfire had erupted around key government institutions in Bissau on Wednesday as soldiers claimed to have “total control” of the country.

President Umaro Sissoco Embaló also said he was arrested in his office at the presidential palace, sparking panic and prompting the military to impose a curfew, suspend the electoral process, close borders, and detain senior officials, including top military and interior ministry figures.

The Federal Government condemned the development as “a serious threat to democracy and regional stability,” and confirmed that Jonathan, who was in the country as head of the West African Elders Forum Election Observation Mission, was safely evacuated by a special flight alongside members of his delegation.

In an interview with Symfoni posted on YouTube on Friday, Jonathan said he was compelled to speak to the media to thank Nigerians for their concern during the crisis and to clarify the situation.

“You know, since I left office, I’ve always been scared of talking to the media. But in this particular case, I decided to speak… first and foremost, to thank Nigerians for the show of empathy, the encouragement,” he said.

He explained that during the so-called coup, Guinea-Bissau’s President, Embaló himself announced that he had been arrested before the military made any public declaration.

“I wouldn’t call it a coup. It was not a coup. I would just say, for want of a better word, maybe it was a ceremonial coup. Because for two things: It is the president, President Embaló, who announced the coup. Later, the military men came up to address the world that they were in charge of everywhere.

“Then Embaló had already announced the coup, which is strange. Not only announcing the coup, but Embaló, while the coup took place, was using his phone and addressing media organisations across the world that he had been arrested,” Jonathan said.

The former president expressed disbelief at the manner in which the incident unfolded, comparing it to other military takeovers in West Africa.

“I’m a Nigerian close to 70, and I know how they keep heads of state when a coup takes place. Recently, I was a mediator in Mali. And within that period, we had a military coup.

“The military doesn’t take over governments, and the sitting president that they overthrew would be allowed to be addressing press conferences and announcing that he has been arrested. Why does this happen? Who is fooling whom?” he asked.

Jonathan also called on ECOWAS and the African Union to ensure the timely announcement of election results, stressing that the military should not interfere with the democratic process.

“Basically, what happened in Guinea-Bissau is quite disturbing to me, who believes in democracy. They have the results because AU and ECOWAS officials were in all the regions when the results were collated. They cannot change those results.

“They should tally all those results and announce them. They cannot force the military out. They must announce and let the world know who won that election. Let the world know who won that election,” he said.

He further recalled his experience overseeing elections in Côte d’Ivoire, emphasising that election outcomes must be respected.

“A similar thing happened in Côte d’Ivoire when I was the Chair of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS. “When we had elections in Côte d’Ivoire in 2010, Laurent Gbagbo was the sitting president. In the first round, Gbagbo got forty-something per cent of the votes, and Alassane Ouattara got thirty-something per cent of the votes.

“And their law, you must get 50 per cent of the votes plus one, at least. Democracy is about the majority. You must get a simple majority to be the president, so they had to go for a second round.

“When they went for the second round, all those other candidates that lost now supported Ouattara, and Ouattara then got more votes than Gbagbo. And Gbagbo said he was not going, that he won the election, and that Ouattara and somebody who had something could not come and defeat him. But that is their law.

“Then all the observers in the international community said Ouattara won the election. And we in ECOWAS said, well, you are our colleague, but you have to go. If the observers, everybody, say Ouattara won the election, Ouattara must be sworn in as the president of Côte d’Ivoire. I stood my ground as the Chair of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, and Ouattara was sworn in,” he said.

News

Nigerian Army Promotes 28 Brigadier Generals, 77 Colonels

Published

3 hours ago

November 29, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian Army has approved the promotion of 28 Brigadier Generals to the rank of Major General and 77 Colonels to Brigadier General, in a significant reshuffle of its senior leadership.

The decision was announced by the Acting Director of Army Public Relations, Lieutenant Colonel Appolonia Anele, on the Nigerian Army’s X on Friday.

Among those elevated to Major General are Brig Gen O Adegbe of the Defence Intelligence Agency, Brig Gen SM Uba, Director of Defence Information, Brig Gen RE Hedima, Acting Chief of Military Intelligence Army, and Brig Gen RT Utsaha, Deputy Director of Defence Operations.

Others include Brig Gen AM Umar, Commandant of the Warrant Officer Academy, Brig Gen S Sulaiman, Deputy Military Secretary (Army), Brig Gen IO Bassey, Director of Nigerian Army Operations Centre, and Brig Gen CA Ekeator of the Nigerian Army School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering.

Also promoted are Brig Gen SY Yakasai, Acting Director Procurement in the Office of the Chief of Army Staff, Brig Gen WL Nzidee of Army Headquarters Department of Army Logistics, Brig Gen SA Emmanuel of the Nigerian Army Signals, Brig Gen SS Tilawan, Acting Commander Sector 3 Joint Task Force, North East Operation HADIN KAI, Brig Gen MO Agi, Desk Officer Tertiary Education Trust Fund at the Nigerian Defence Academy, and Brig Gen IM Abbas, Commander 34 Brigade.

Brig Gen ZA Saidu was promoted posthumously in recognition of his service.

Promotions from Colonel to Brigadier General include officers serving across key army units and institutions, such as the Nigerian Army Resource Centre, Armed Forces Command and Staff College Jaji, Army Headquarters departments, Special Forces Brigades, and several military hospitals.

In his remarks, Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt Gen Waidi Shaibu, congratulated the officers and their families, urging them to intensify their professional drive and prove that their elevation is well-deserved.

He emphasized the need for exemplary leadership, inspiring subordinates through personal conduct, and adopting bold, innovative solutions to address evolving security challenges.

Shaibu further stressed the officers’ sacred duty to uphold their oath of allegiance and maintain absolute loyalty to the Constitution, reinforcing the army’s commitment to defending the territorial integrity of the nation.

The promotions mark a strategic boost to the Nigerian Army’s senior leadership, aiming to strengthen operational efficiency and enhance the military’s response to national security threats.