Whistleblower: Facebook made abrupt policy change immediately following Capitol riot
Testifying before a Senate committee looking into allegations that Facebook has been putting profits before the safety of Americans, whistleblower Frances Haugen noted an abrupt change in policy immediately following the Jan 6th Capitol riot that led U.S. lawmakers to flee for their lives.
Speaking with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Haugen -- whose explosive allegations have rocked the foundations of the social media behemoth -- was asked about the political implications of what Facebook was promoting prior to the November presidential election that saw Donald Trump fail to be re-elected.
After explaining how Facebook staffers tweak the algorithms to promote continued engagement, she explained changes that were made prior to the election that were suddenly abandoned after Jan 6th.
"You said Facebook implemented safeguards to reduce misinformation ahead of the 2020 election, but turned off those safeguards right after the election," the Democratic senator prompted. "And you know that the insurrection occurred January 6th. Do you think they turned it off because it was reducing profits?"
"Facebook has been emphasizing a false choice," Haugen replied. "They said the safeguards in place before the election implicated free speech. The choices happening on the flat platform were about how reactive and how twitchy was the platform -- how viral was that platform. Facebook changed those safety defaults in the run-up to the election because they knew they were dangerous and because they wanted that growth back."
"They wanted the acceleration of the platform back after the election, they returned to their original defaults," she continued. "And the fact that they had to 'break the glass' on January 6th and turn them back on, I think that is deeply problematic."
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