Meta's plan to turn academics against a critic backfires
Court filings in California show Meta staff discussed a 'whisper strategy' against Jonathan Haidt, author of The Anxious Generation.
Meta employees discussed in 2023 a plan to turn academics against Jonathan Haidt, author of the bestseller The Anxious Generation, court filings in California reported by The Verge show.
The documents describe a 'whisper strategy' and a 'below-the-line campaign' aimed at countering Haidt's argument that social media and smartphones are driving a decline in teenagers' mental health. One idea was to 'get Gellman to write a take-down piece', possibly a reference to Columbia University professor Andrew Gelman, who had already criticised Haidt.
It is unclear whether Meta ever acted on the proposal, and the company declined to comment.
Since the documents surfaced last month, the plan appears to have backfired. Academics on both sides of the debate, including some of Haidt's critics, objected, and several insisted Meta played no part in their opposition.
Source: The Verge Photo: rawpixel (CC0)
