The Facebook Papers: How to read the reports
A trove of internal documents released to the SEC and Congress shines a light on Facebook. Here are the collective news reports on the docs.
Starting last Friday and building to a timed release on Monday, a collection of US and European news organizations began publishing waves of stories on a trove of messages, research, presentations and other internal documents, collectively called the Facebook Papers, that present internal concerns about the social network's responsibility to control dangerous content.
The internal company files -- which run to tens of thousands of pages -- were collected by whistleblower Frances Haugen, a former Facebook product manager who supplied the documents to the Securities and Exchange Commission before testifying at Congress earlier this month. Haugen's testimony followed shortly after an investigation into the files by The Wall Street Journal. On Monday, she testified before the UK Parliament.
The redacted versions of the documents were provided to Congress by Haugen's legal counsel, and the consortium of news organizations -- which includes the Associated Press, The Atlantic, CNN, the Financial Times, Fox Business, Le Monde, The New York Times, NPR, Reuters and Süddeutsche Zeitung, according to Axios -- worked from the same set of documents and agreed to begin publishing stories Monday, the AP reported.
The reports come from websites, newspapers, magazines and other news agencies. Facebook didn't respond to a request for comment on the new trove, but it has said that its internal documents are being misrepresented and that a "false picture" is being painted of the social-networking giant.
To help you find all the articles, we're collecting them here in one place for you to read. We'll update this collection as new stories are published.
A running list of reports on the Facebook Pages
Here's a list of articles and videos on the Facebook Papers from a collection of news outlets that have seen the internal documents. Note that some of the articles may require a subscription to read.
The Associated Press
- Facebook froze as anti-vaccine comments swarmed users, Oct. 26
- Facebook language gaps weaken screening of hate, terrorism, Oct. 25
- Apple once threatened Facebook ban over Mideast maid abuse, Oct. 25
- People or profit? Facebook papers show deep conflict within, Oct. 25
- Facebook dithered in curbing divisive user content in India, Oct. 24
- Amid the Capitol riot, Facebook faced its own insurrection, Oct. 22
The Atlantic
- 'History Will Not Judge Us Kindly,' Oct. 25
- How Facebook Failed the World, Oct. 25
- What Happened When Facebook Became Boomerbook, Oct. 5
Bloomberg
- Facebook Hobbled Team Tasked With Stemming Harmful Content, Oct. 25
- Facebook Staff Say Core Products Make Misinformation Worse, Oct. 25
- Facebook Privately Worried About Hate Speech Spawning Violence, Oct. 25
- The Facebook Papers: Social Network Shaken by Content, User Woe, Oct. 25
- Facebook, Alarmed by Teen Usage Drop, Left Investors in the Dark, Oct. 25
CBS
- Liberals to 'Moscow Mitch,' conservatives to QAnon: Facebook researchers saw how its algorithms led to misinformation, Oct. 25
- Facebook internal documents show execs knew platform spread misinformation and failed to act at times, Oct. 25
- Facebook Whistleblower Frances Haugen: The 60 Minutes Interview, Oct. 3
CNBC
CNN
- Facebook has language blind spots around the world that allow hate speech to flourish, Oct. 26
- The Facebook Papers may be the biggest crisis in the company's history, Oct. 25
- Facebook knew it was being used to incite violence in Ethiopia. It did little to stop the spread, documents show, Oct. 25
- Facebook has known it has a human trafficking problem for years. It still hasn't fully fixed it, Oct. 25
- Revealed: How Facebook promoted QAnon to a 'North Carolina mom,' Oct. 25
- Not stopping 'Stop the Steal:' Facebook Papers paint damning picture of company's role in insurrection, Oct. 24
- Messages show what employees were saying about Facebook's role in the insurrection, Oct. 23
The Financial Times
- Facebook bungled efforts to curb explosion of hate speech ahead of Capitol attack, Oct. 25
- Four revelations from the Facebook Papers, Oct. 25
- Employees pleaded with Facebook to stop letting politicians bend rules, Oct. 22
- Facebook confronts growth problems as number of young users in US declines, Oct. 22
Fox Business
- Facebook employees claimed tactics were 'hostile', 'disrespectful' toward users, document shows, Oct. 25
- Facebook aides say company fueled violence, Oct. 25
NBC
- The Facebook Papers: Documents reveal internal fury and dissent over site's policies, Oct. 25
- Internal Facebook documents reveal more red flags about misinformation on site, Oct. 25
- 'Carol's Journey': What Facebook knew about how it radicalized users, Oct. 22
The New York Times
- Facebook Wrestles With the Features It Used to Define Social Networking, Oct. 25
- The Facebook Papers and their Fallout, Oct. 25
- In India, Facebook Grapples With an Amplified Version of Its Problems, Oct. 23
- Internal Alarm, Public Shrugs: Facebook's Employees Dissect Its Election Role, Oct. 22
NPR
- What Facebook's internal documents reveal about the company, Oct. 25
- How the 'Stop the Steal' movement outwitted Facebook ahead of the Jan. 6 insurrection, Oct. 22
Politico
- Facebook documents offer a treasure trove for Washington's antitrust war, Oct. 25
- 'This is NOT normal': Facebook employees vent their anguish, Oct. 25
- Facebook's Jan. 6 problem: A thin playbook for false election claims, Oct. 25
- How Facebook users wield multiple accounts to spread toxic politics, Oct. 25
- Facebook's 'fatal flaw': Staff spar over the sway of their lobbyists, Oct. 25
- Facebook did little to moderate posts in the world's most violent countries, Oct. 25
- Inside Facebook's struggle to contain insurrectionists' posts, Oct. 25
Reuters
USA Today
- Facebook says it's stopping hate and violence against Black Americans. Its own research shows otherwise, Oct. 25
- The story of Carol and Karen: Two experimental Facebook accounts show how the company helped divide America, Oct. 23
The Wall Street Journal
- Facebook's Internal Chat Boards Show Politics Often at Center of Decision Making, Oct. 24
- Facebook Services Are Used to Spread Religious Hatred in India, Internal Documents Show, Oct. 23
- Facebook Increasingly Suppresses Political Movements It Deems Dangerous, Oct. 22
- The Facebook Files, Sept. 13
The Washington Post
- Five points for anger, one for a 'like': How Facebook's formula fostered rage and misinformation, Oct. 26
- The case against Mark Zuckerberg: Insiders say Facebook's CEO chose growth over safety, Oct. 25
- How Facebook neglected the rest of the world, fueling hate speech and violence in India, Oct. 25
- A whistleblower's power: Key takeaways from the Facebook Papers, Oct. 25
- Inside Facebook, Jan. 6 violence fueled anger, regret over missed warning signs, Oct. 22
- New whistleblower claims Facebook allowed hate, illegal activity to go unchecked, Oct. 22
The Verge
- The tier list: How Facebook decides which countries need protection, Oct. 25
- Facebook's lost generation, Oct. 25