Meta Employees Discussed 'Whisper Strategy' to Discredit Social Media Critic Haidt, Documents Show

Internal documents unsealed in a California federal court reveal that Meta employees discussed strategies to discredit social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, a prominent critic of the company's platforms and their impact on adolescent mental health. The documents suggest a concerted effort to undermine Haidt's influence and research.

One filing from a March 2023 meeting of Meta's "well-being" team reportedly details a goal set by an executive, possibly research chief Curtiss Cobb, to discredit Haidt. Notes from the meeting indicate discussions about targeting media coverage to portray Haidt as "not credible." The employees also apparently considered enlisting a figure referred to as "Gellman" to "write a take-down piece" about Haidt, although Gellman's identity remains unclear.

Further notes describe exploring a "whisper strategy" aimed at turning academics against Haidt and identifying methods for "debunking Haidt." Haidt, author of the best-selling book "The Anxious Generation," has been a vocal critic of social media's effects on young people, drawing parallels between the industry's practices and those of the tobacco industry.

Representatives for Meta and Haidt did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The extent to which these discussions led to concrete actions by Meta remains uncertain.

Josh Golin, executive director of Fairplay, an organization critical of Meta's practices, stated that these internal documents show the company prioritizes reputation management over the safety and addictiveness of its platforms for young users. "Rather than engage with the substance of Jonathan Haidt’s evidence-based criticisms, Meta launched a covert plan to discredit an academic whose best-selling book helped galvanize a parent movement," Golin said.

The unsealed documents also include an email from March 2023 where a Meta employee expresses frustration that the legal team was attempting to "block or redesign" a study on youth social-emotional trends. Additionally, a December 2022 email from Nick Clegg, Meta's former head of global affairs, to other executives suggests that a presentation to the National Academies of Sciences could prompt unwelcome questions about the design of Meta's apps concerning youth well-being.

These revelations emerged as part of a broader federal lawsuit in California, which consolidates thousands of cases alleging harm from social media addiction. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers is overseeing the litigation. The plaintiffs, including a coalition of school districts, accuse Meta of contributing to a teen mental health crisis. The court's decision to unseal these documents followed a dispute where plaintiffs alleged Meta improperly used attorney-client privilege to withhold or redact company records.

Judge Gonzalez Rogers previously criticized Meta for producing swag hats with the phrase "attorney-client privilege" to commemorate the 2024 launch of Instagram's Teen Accounts, remarking, "I have never seen a company whose employees are so taken with the attorney-client privilege that they’d have caps made."