Whistleblower accuses Meta of misleading shareholders about disinformation

Whistleblower Frances Haugen has filed suit with the US Securities and Exchange Commission against Meta, formerly Facebook. According to its shareholders, the company is misleading by stating that Meta does more against misinformation than it really does.

The charges allege misinformation about climate change and coronavirus, The Washington Post reports. Meta, then still Facebook, is said to have presented a rosier picture to shareholders of the fight against misinformation on its platforms than is actually the case. That would have misled shareholders. Spreading misinformation is in principle not punishable in the US, but misleading shareholders is.

Haugen’s lawyers, united in the Whistleblower Aid organization, filed the charges two weeks ago. In addition, the charges show internal documents from Facebook, which would show that, contrary to what the company says, misinformation about climate change and corona is and will remain on the platform.

It is unknown what the status of the charges is and whether and how the SEC can take action on the charges. A Meta spokesperson said the share of misinformation on the platform is small and the company is doing everything it can to reduce that share, including new tools and rules.

Haugen emerged as a whistleblower last fall. She worked as a data analyst for Facebook and publicly showed all kinds of internal investigations into the use of the platforms. This concerned, for example, the harmfulness of Instagram for teenagers.