[nyghtly]

The whistleblower part is internal Facebook research showing that the algorithm is known to be harmful (for example, politically polarizing and hate-mongering) in it's current form. In addition to that internal research, she also revealed during the 60 minutes interview that Facebook used a "weaker" version of the algorithm during the 2020 election cycle in order to prevent disinformation. The weaker version was replaced with the high-engagement strategy after the election. Notably, the Jan 6 insurrection occurred when the high-engagement algorithm was being used.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-facebook-files-11631713039

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/facebook-whistleblower-frances-...

[lostmsu]

Just clarifying. Why is political polarization harmful?

[adolph]

I'm not certain but in considering your question I came to: Political polarization is a network of cognitive biases which decreases mental models' connection to the reality that people agree on more things than disagree.

[_3wrh]

"This 2019 internal report obtained by Haugen says that the parties feel strongly that the change to the algorithm has forced them to skew negative in their communications on Facebook ... leading them into more extreme policy positions." (8:07)

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/facebook-whistleblower-frances-...

Although the above statement is from a group of European politicians, it's not hard to see the same story playing out in the United States. Take the Covid-19 pandemic, for example. The impact of partisanship on this issue is as clear as day:

"There's A Stark Red-Blue Divide When It Comes To States' Vaccination Rates"

https://www.npr.org/2021/06/09/1004430257/theres-a-stark-red...

"Ron DeSantis isn't anti-vaccine. But he has started standing shoulder-to-shoulder with those who are."

https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2021/09/15/des...