LONDON: Former Facebook data scientist turned whistleblower Frances Haugen on Monday told lawmakers in the United Kingdom working on legislation to rein in social media companies that the company is making online hate and extremism worse and outlined how it could improve online safety.
Haugen appeared before a parliamentary committee scrutinizing the British government’s draft legislation to crack down on harmful online content, and her comments could help lawmakers beef up the rules. She’s testifying the same day that Facebook is set to release its latest earnings and that The Associated Press and other news organizations started publishing stories based on thousands of pages of internal company documents she obtained.
Haugen told UK lawmakers how Facebook Groups amplifies online hate, saying algorithms that prioritize engagement take people with mainstream interests and push them to the extremes. She said the company could add moderators to prevent groups from being used to spread extremist views.
“Unquestionably, it’s making hate worse,” she said.
Haugen added that she was “shocked to hear recently that Facebook wants to double down on the metaverse and that they’re gonna hire 10,000 engineers in Europe to work on the metaverse,” Haugen said, referring to the company’s plans for an immersive online world it believes will be the next big Internet trend.
“I was like, ‘Wow, do you know what we could have done with safety if we had 10,000 more engineers?’ It would be amazing,” she said.
It’s her second appearance before lawmakers after she testified in the US Senate earlier this month about the danger she says the company poses, from harming children to inciting political violence and fueling misinformation. Haugen cited internal research documents she secretly copied before leaving her job in Facebook’s civic integrity unit.
The documents, which Haugen provided to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, allege Facebook prioritized profits over safety and hid its own research from investors and the public. Some stories based on the files have already been published, exposing internal turmoil after Facebook was blindsided by the Jan. 6 US Capitol riot and how it dithered over curbing divisive content in India, and more is to come.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has disputed Haugen’s portrayal of the company as one that puts profit over the well-being of its users or that pushes divisive content, saying a false picture is being painted. But he does agree on the need for updated Internet regulations, saying lawmakers are best able to assess the tradeoffs.
Haugen has told US lawmakers that she thinks a federal regulator is needed to oversee digital giants like Facebook, something that officials in Britain and the European Union are already working on.
The UK government’s online safety bill calls for setting up a regulator that would hold companies to account when it comes to removing harmful or illegal content from their platforms, such as terrorist material or child sex abuse images.
“This is quite a big moment,” Damian Collins, the lawmaker who chairs the committee, said ahead of the hearing. “This is a moment, sort of like Cambridge Analytica, but possibly bigger in that I think it provides a real window into the soul of these companies.”
Collins was referring to the 2018 debacle involving data-mining firm Cambridge Analytica, which gathered details on as many as 87 million Facebook users without their permission.
Representatives from Facebook and other social media companies plan to speak to the committee Thursday.
Ahead of the hearing, Haugen met the father of Molly Russell, a 14-year-old girl who killed herself in 2017 after viewing disturbing content on Facebook-owned Instagram. In a chat filmed by the BBC, Ian Russell told Haugen that after Molly’s death, her family found notes she wrote about being addicted to Instagram.
Haugen also is scheduled to meet next month with European Union officials in Brussels, where the bloc’s executive commission is updating its digital rulebook to better protect Internet users by holding online companies more responsible for illegal or dangerous content.
Under the UK rules, expected to take effect next year, Silicon Valley giants face an ultimate penalty of up to 10 percent of their global revenue for any violations. The EU is proposing a similar penalty.
The UK committee will be hoping to hear more from Haugen about the data that tech companies have gathered. Collins said the internal files that Haugen has turned over to US authorities are important because it shows the kind of information that Facebook holds — and what regulators should be asking when they investigate these companies.
The committee has already heard from another Facebook whistleblower, Sophie Zhang, who raised the alarm after finding evidence of online political manipulation in countries such as Honduras and Azerbaijan before she was fired.
Whistleblower Haugen says Facebook making online hate worse
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Whistleblower Haugen says Facebook making online hate worse
- Haugen told UK lawmakers how Facebook Groups amplifies online hate, saying algorithms that prioritize engagement take people with mainstream interests and push them to the extremes
Ex-presenter Gary Lineker criticizes BBC for dropping Gaza documentary
- It was the first time he had publicly criticized the BBC since his departure, which followed backlash over a social media post
- He accused BBC executives of bowing to pressure “from the top”
LONDON: Former BBC presenter and football star Gary Lineker said the broadcaster “should hold its head in shame” after deciding not to show a documentary on medics working in Gaza.
Accusing executives of bowing to pressure “from the top,” Lineker made the remarks during a private screening of “Gaza: Doctors Under Attack,” where media reports say he was visibly moved.
It was the first time he had publicly criticized the BBC since his departure, which followed backlash over a social media post perceived as having antisemitic connotations — something he later apologized for.
After the screening, Lineker said the documentary, originally commissioned by the broadcasting giant, “needed to be seen. It really did need to be seen.”
He added: “I think the BBC should hold its head in shame. I’ve worked for the corporation for 30 years; to see the way it’s declined in the last year or two has been devastating really. I’ve defended it and defended it against claims that it is partial.”
The documentary, which features first-hand accounts from Palestinian medical workers and investigates alleged attacks on hospitals and healthcare facilities, was pulled by the BBC over concerns about impartiality. The decision sparked an outcry from pro-Palestinian groups after another documentary on Gaza’s children was taken down when it emerged the main narrator was the son of a Hamas official.
Lineker said that while the BBC “talks about impartiality all the time,” the reality was that the broadcaster was “bowing to pressure from the top,” something he described as deeply concerning.
“I think the time is coming when a lot of people will have to answer for this,” he added, warning that “complicity is something that will come to many.”
The BBC has recently been accused of biased, pro-Israel coverage of the war in Gaza.
Earlier this week hundreds of media professionals, including over 100 current BBC staff, accused the broadcaster of acting as “PR for the Israeli government.” In an open letter, they raised concerns over the role of board member Sir Robbie Gibb in the BBC’s coverage of Gaza.
Gibb helped lead the consortium that purchased The Jewish Chronicle in 2020 and served as a director until August 2024.
The letter described his position on the BBC board — including on the editorial standards committee — as “untenable,” citing the Jewish Chronicle’s alleged history of publishing “anti-Palestinian and often racist content.”
July edition of National Geographic Al-Arabiya explores nomadic heritage, digital archaeology, ‘maligned’ wildlife
- Latest issue examines humanity’s evolving relationship with the environment
- “The New Archaeologists” profiles social media influencers turned amateur archaeologists along London’s Thames riverbanks
ABU DHABI: The July edition of National Geographic Al Arabiya examines the complex interplay between humanity and environmental forces while highlighting exceptional cultural narratives and transformative global social movements.
The magazine’s 178th issue begins with an extensive feature on Africa’s largest nomadic group, the Fulani — some 20 million people who traverse the continent’s vast desert areas. These modern-day Bedouins continue their ancestral migrations with herds of livestock, journeying from Africa’s eastern reaches to its western borders in an eternal search for water and grazing lands.
The investigation examines how this ancient pastoral society confronts 21st-century challenges, from climate change to social upheaval, while working to elevate women’s roles in their deeply rooted herding culture.
A striking counterpoint emerges in “The New Archaeologists” which profiles an unexpected phenomenon along London’s Thames riverbanks — social media influencers turned amateur archaeologists. These digital-age treasure hunters have sparked both remarkable discoveries and heated debates over proper archaeological protocols.
The feature captures an emerging conflict between grassroots passion for historical discovery and established scientific methodology in an era where technology democratizes access to archaeological exploration.
The issue’s centerpiece investigation, “Our Maligned Wildlife,” challenges readers to reconsider nature’s most misunderstood creatures. From the notoriously pungent and ferocious honey badger to small-eyed vultures and scruffy aye-aye lemurs, the feature argues these “ugly” animals play crucial ecological roles — and that their supposed flaws may actually be evolutionary strengths.
Readers then journey to Romania’s Transylvanian countryside, where traditional farming communities maintain centuries-old agricultural practices despite mounting pressure from modernization.
The magazine concludes with a photographic retrospective marking New York City’s 400th anniversary, tracing the metropolis’s remarkable evolution from a small settlement to a global powerhouse pulsing with life and renewal.
BBC asks senior music team to ‘step back’ from daily duties after Glastonbury row
- BBC said that it would no longer live-broadcast musical performances deemed “high risk”
LONDON: The BBC has asked senior staff overseeing music and events to step back from their duties amid a backlash over anti-Israel chants during Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury set, the broadcaster reported.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the BBC said that it would no longer live-broadcast musical performances deemed “high risk,” calling the editorial team’s decision not to cut the livestream “an error.”
During his act, the punk duo’s frontman, Bobby Vylan, chanted “Death, death to the IDF.” The BBC said that the band’s act was among the seven acts “deemed high risk” in advance and “suitable for live streaming with appropriate mitigations.”
“The team prioritized stopping the performance from featuring on-demand. This meant that no downloads of Bob Vylan’s set were available on iPlayer or Sounds,” the BBC said.
“However, the live feed, which was showing subsequent performances from other acts on the same Glastonbury stage, remained up until it was amended shortly after 8pm while teams worked on a technical solution.”
The broadcaster vowed to take action against “those found to be responsible for those failings in the live broadcast,” reiterating that there is “no place for antisemitism.”
British police said earlier this week that a criminal investigation was launched into the remarks at the festival in southwestern England.
The remarks drew controversy, with pro-Palestinian groups criticizing what they saw as selective outrage, highlighting the scrutiny over Bob Vylan’s chants against the IDF while atrocities in Gaza went largely unaddressed.
In a post on social media, Bob Vylan said: “We are not for the death of Jews, Arabs or any other race or group of people. We are for the dismantling of a violent military machine.”
The band noted that the backlash was “a distraction from the real story of the atrocities happening in Gaza. “Whatever sanctions we receive will be the distraction.”
The BBC has faced criticism from pro-Palestinian campaigners who accuse the broadcaster of pro-Israel bias in its coverage of the war in Gaza.
Last week, the BBC pulled the documentary “Gaza: Doctors Under Attack,” which featured first-hand accounts from Palestinian medical workers and investigated alleged attacks on hospitals and healthcare facilities in the enclave.
The broadcaster said that the decision was made because the film “risked creating a perception of partiality that would not meet the high standards that the public rightly expect of the BBC.”
Producer of dropped BBC Gaza documentary says broadcaster tried to gag him
- In a post on LinkedIn, Ben de Pear said he declined to sign the BBC ‘double gagging clause’ multiple times
- The corporation shelved ‘Gaza: Doctors Under Attack’ amid widespread criticisms over controversial decision
LONDON: The executive producer of a shelved BBC documentary on Gaza has accused the corporation of attempting to silence him over its controversial decision to pull the film.
Ben de Pear, former editor of Channel 4 News and executive producer of “Gaza: Doctors Under Attack,” said he was repeatedly pressured to sign what he called a “double gagging clause” that would have barred him and others from speaking about the BBC’s decision to drop the film.
“I rejected and refused to sign the double gagging clause the BBC bosses tried multiple times to get me to sign,” de Pear wrote in a LinkedIn post.
“Not only could we have been sued for saying the BBC refused to air the film (palpably and provably true) but also if any other company had said it, the BBC could sue us.
“Not only could we not tell the truth that was already stated, but neither could others. Reader, I didn’t sign it.”
Describing the film’s production as a “painful journey,” de Pear previously accused Tim Davie, BBC’s director general, of taking editorial decisions he was not qualified to make.
“All the decisions about our film were not taken by journalists, they were taken by Tim Davie,” he said at conference in Sheffield. “He is just a PR person. Tim Davie is taking editorial decisions which, frankly, he is not capable of making.”
He accused the BBC of “failing as an institution,” calling for Davie and the corporation’s senior leadership to step down.
While the BBC has not officially responded, The Guardian reported that sources close to the matter denied the broadcaster tried to gag de Pear.
One insider said the request was a standard clause requiring producers to seek BBC approval before promoting its content — a claim disputed by de Pear’s company, Basement Films.
The controversy comes amid broader criticism of the BBC’s handling of Gaza-related coverage.
This includes backlash over its decision to drop “Gaza: Doctors Under Attack” because it “risked creating a perception of partiality,” its refusal to broadcast a performance by Irish rap trio Kneecap — one member of whom faces terror charges — and its failure to interrupt the Glastonbury live feed featuring anti-Israel chants by punk-rap duo Bob Vylan.
On Wednesday, over 400 media professionals — including 111 BBC journalists — signed an open letter accusing the BBC of acting as “PR for the Israeli government” and calling for the removal of BBC board member Robbie Gibb, citing conflicts of interest and editorial bias.
The letter also questioned Gibb’s alleged role in the BBC’s decision to drop the Gaza documentary.
Before pulling “Gaza: Doctors Under Attack” entirely, the BBC said it had delayed the film’s broadcast pending a review of another program, “Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone.”
Channel 4 ultimately aired “Gaza: Doctors Under Attack” on Wednesday night to critical acclaim.
Hundreds of media figures accuse BBC of acting as ‘PR’ for Israel, urge removal of board member
- Open letter by media professionals, BBC staff say Gaza coverage ‘falls short’ of editorial standards
- Sir Robbie Gibb, former chief of Jewish Chronicle, accused of ‘ideological allegiances’ to Israel
LONDON: Hundreds of media professionals, including over 100 current BBC staff, have signed an open letter accusing the broadcaster of acting as “PR for the Israeli government,” and called for the removal of BBC board member Sir Robbie Gibb over alleged conflicts of interest.
The letter, sent to BBC Director-General Tim Davie and the broadcaster’s board, follows a string of controversies — including the BBC’s live broadcast of anti-Israel chants by the punk-rap duo Bob Vylan at Glastonbury, and the decision to pull a commissioned documentary on Gaza.
“All too often it has felt that the BBC has been performing PR for the Israeli government and military. This should be a cause of great shame and concern for everyone at the BBC,” the letter stated.
The signatories — which include actress Miriam Margolyes, filmmaker Mike Leigh, actor Charles Dance, and historian William Dalrymple — claim the BBC’s coverage of Gaza “falls short” of its editorial standards and fails to reflect the reality on the ground.
The letter also raises concerns over the BBC’s decision to withdraw from airing “Gaza: Doctors Under Attack,” a documentary it originally commissioned, which will now be broadcast by Channel 4.
The BBC said it pulled the film because it “risked creating a perception of partiality.”
“This appears to be a political decision and is not reflective of the journalism in the film,” the letter stated. “This illustrates precisely what many of us have experienced first hand: an organisation that is crippled by fear of being perceived as critical of the Israeli government.”
Much of the criticism focuses on Gibb, a former head of the BBC’s Westminster political team and ex-spin doctor for Prime Minister Theresa May.
Gibb helped lead the consortium that purchased The Jewish Chronicle in 2020 and served as a director until August 2024.
The letter describes his position on the BBC board — including on the editorial standards committee — as “untenable,” citing the Jewish Chronicle’s alleged history of publishing “anti-Palestinian and often racist content.”
The letter accuses Gibb of a conflict of interest and highlights what it sees as a double standard: “For many of us, our efforts have been frustrated by opaque decisions made at senior levels of the BBC without discussion or explanation. Our failures impact audiences.
“As an organisation we have not offered any significant analysis of the UK government’s involvement in the war on Palestinians. We have failed to report on weapons sales or their legal implications. These stories have instead been broken by the BBC’s competitors.”
The statement alleges Gibb has a “conflict of interest” which “highlights a double standard for BBC content makers who have themselves experienced censorship in the name of ‘impartiality.’”
The letter further stated: “In some instances staff have been accused of having an agenda because they have posted news articles critical of the Israeli government on their social media.
“By comparison, Gibb remains in an influential post with little transparency regarding his decisions despite his ideological leanings being well known. We can no longer ask licence fee payers to overlook Gibbs’s ideological allegiances.”
A BBC spokesperson said: “Robust discussions amongst our editorial teams about our journalism are an essential part of the editorial process.
“We have ongoing discussions about coverage and listen to feedback from staff and we think these conversations are best had internally.
“Regarding our coverage of Gaza, the BBC is fully committed to covering the conflict impartially and has produced powerful coverage from the region.”
The spokesperson added that in addition to “breaking news, ongoing analysis, and investigations,” the BBC has produced award-winning documentaries such as “Life and Death in Gaza,” and “Gaza 101.”
