Facebook internal documents show execs knew platform spread misinformation and failed to act

A Facebook researcher on the company's "integrity" team wrote in an August 2020 resignation letter reviewed by CBS News that "promising interventions" to clean up the site were "prematurely stifled or severely constrained by key decision makers" on multiple occasions.

One internal document from July 2019 titled "Carol's Journey to QAnon" describes a dummy account created by a researcher who then engaged with content suggested by Facebook's technology. It was a short journey – after just a few days, the account saw only conspiracy theories, lies, and graphic content.

Those are just two of thousands of pages of internal Facebook documents provided to Congress by lawyers for Frances Haugen, the whistleblower who told lawmakers at a Senate hearing that the company chooses profits over the safety of users. Haugen, who first revealed her identity on "60 Minutes," also filed complaints with the Securities and Exchange Commission.