Facebook has faced numerous crises in recent months, but the most significant crisis was the leak of internal company files by former project manager Frances Haugen. These leaks began to emerge in a series of articles in the Wall Street Journal. The leaked information was highly concerning, and its seriousness intensified as it spread more widely and reached the public. Major news outlets obtained their own copies of these documents. Among the thousands of leaked documents, some were of particular importance, revealing a host of noteworthy and intriguing facts.
**COVID-19 and Vaccines**
One of the revelations was Facebook's inability to tackle misinformation regarding COVID-19 and its vaccines. An employee within the company noted in March 2021 that the platform was incapable of countering negative comments about the vaccines. Facebook has faced significant criticism for its failure to combat vaccine misinformation, with current U.S. President Joe Biden describing it as "killing people."
**"Slave Markets"**
This information was revealed by The Verge, which obtained a copy of the leaked official documents but did not disclose the full document due to it containing the employee's name. Additionally, the documents unveiled that Apple threatened to completely block Facebook's platform because it contained "slave markets," as described in the report. In October 2019, Apple threatened to remove Facebook's apps from the store due to a BBC report detailing human trafficking activities on Instagram. Furthermore, sellers were encouraging buyers to harm these individuals and destroy their passports.
The extracted information also disclosed another fact: that Facebook's civil integrity team was repeatedly blocked by Mark Zuckerberg himself after he agreed to suppress anti-state content in Vietnam.
**Trump and Biden**
Moreover, the files revealed that Facebook exploited a German anti-COVID vaccine movement in an experiment known as the "Querdenken Experiment." The platform conducted a trial of a new, more aggressive content review system on this movement. The leaked files also indicated Facebook's prior intention to eliminate the like counts on Facebook and Instagram. However, this move was never implemented due to its negative impact on advertising revenue. Additionally, the files showed the failure of content moderation systems to address specific events, such as supporters of Trump attempting to reject Joe Biden's declaration as President of the United States after his election victory. Clear political dimensions emerged in the files, including the platform's attempts to make its content suitable for supporters of Biden's Democratic Party.
