Meta discussed ‘whisper strategy’ against social media critic Jonathan Haidt, files show
News Source
•Thu, 29 Oct 2026 17:20:57 GMT
📰 What Happened
Court documents show Meta staff talked about a “whisper strategy” to undermine academic Jonathan Haidt. He wrote The Anxious Generation, a book that pushed governments toward strict rules on social media for young people.
Notes from a March 2023 meeting say staff wanted to “get the academic community to disavow Haidt”. They discussed a below-the-line campaign and getting someone to write a takedown piece. The notes also mention debunking his work.
The minutes came out in a legal filing in a case brought by US school districts suing Meta. It is not clear whether the company acted on the ideas.
🔍 The Backstory
Haidt argues that smartphones have caused a mental health crisis among young people. His book helped shift debate towards bans on social media for under-16s, including Australia's ban. UK officials asked him to brief them this year.
A statistician named Andrew Gelman, who has criticised Haidt, wrote that he was never hired to attack him. He said he had taken money from Meta in the past on a no-strings basis.
🎯 Why It Matters
If a company tries to silence researchers, parents get weaker evidence about what social media does to kids.
Court documents show Meta staff talked about a “whisper strategy” to undermine academic Jonathan Haidt. He wrote The Anxious Generation, a book that pushed governments toward strict rules on social media for young people.
Notes from a March 2023 meeting say staff wanted to “get the academic community to disavow Haidt”. They discussed a below-the-line campaign and getting someone to write a takedown piece. The notes also mention debunking his work.
The minutes came out in a legal filing in a case brought by US school districts suing Meta. It is not clear whether the company acted on the ideas.
Haidt argues that smartphones have caused a mental health crisis among young people. His book helped shift debate towards bans on social media for under-16s, including Australia's ban. UK officials asked him to brief them this year.
A statistician named Andrew Gelman, who has criticised Haidt, wrote that he was never hired to attack him. He said he had taken money from Meta in the past on a no-strings basis.
If a company tries to silence researchers, parents get weaker evidence about what social media does to kids.