Meta Documents Reveal Strategy to Discredit Jonathan Haidt
Internal Meta documents show employees planned a whisper strategy to undermine social psychologist Jonathan Haidt and discredit his research on youth mental health.
Internal documents from Meta revealed in a U.S. court filing show that employees developed a whisper strategy to undermine social psychologist Jonathan Haidt. Meeting notes from March 2023 detail a below-the-line campaign designed to make Haidt appear not credible to the media and encourage the academic community to disavow him.
The documents indicate that staff sought a takedown piece from an individual referred to as Gellman and discussed debunking Haidt's work. Andrew Gelman, a professor at Columbia University, denied being hired by Meta to perform a hit job on Haidt, although he acknowledged receiving previous no-strings funding from the company.
Haidt, author of The Anxious Generation, argues that smartphones caused a youth mental health crisis. His research has influenced government actions, including an under-16 social media ban in Australia and consultations with health officials in the United Kingdom. Haidt stated he was not surprised by the revelations, asserting that companies attack the messenger when they cannot dispute the evidence.
