Explainer · card A05 · 60 seconds
01 / 08 · Setup
32%
of teen girls: "Instagram makes me feel worse about myself"
— from Meta's internal research, 2019
02 / 08 · Tension
META KNEW. IT BURIED IT.
internal reports, 2019–2021
03 / 08 · Reveal
FRANCES HAUGEN
Civic Integrity product manager → whistleblower
04 / 08 · Mechanism
17 NEWSROOMS
Wall Street Journal
USA · Facebook Files series
The New York Times
USA
Le Monde
France
Süddeutsche Zeitung
Germany
Facebook Files Consortium · September–October 2021
05 / 08 · Scope
INSTAGRAM AND TEEN GIRLS. XCHECK. MYANMAR. ETHIOPIA.
5.8M
documents
5.8M
XCheck accounts
2,500+
Myanmar victims (UN)
06 / 08 · Confrontation
10.5.2021
Frances Haugen testifies before the U.S. Congress.
07 / 08 · Consequence
DSA
Digital Services Act — fast-tracked in the EU
The €1.2B fine (A07) and €390M penalty (A09) emerged in the shadow of this story.
08 / 08
FACEBOOK FILES
The largest leak in Silicon Valley history. Haugen testified alone. She had PR support.
Card A05 in Big Tech Files.