Internal Meta communications revealed in a recent legal filing show company employees discussed strategies to undermine the credibility of Jonathan Haidt, a prominent academic whose research has shaped debates around online safety and digital regulation.
The discussions appear in meeting notes titled “Well-being Meeting Sound-check Notes” and reference plans to “get the academic community to disavow Haidt.” The documents indicate Meta staff considered a “below-the-line campaign” rather than a public approach, with references to turning other academics against the researcher and describing the effort as a “whisper strategy.” Meeting minutes from 8 March 2023 mention Curtiss Cobb, who was Meta’s vice-president of research at the time, and outline goals to make the media find Haidt “not credible.”
The notes also suggest enlisting someone identified as “Gellman” to produce a critical piece on Haidt’s work. Andrew Gelman, a Columbia University statistics professor who fits this description, stated this week that he was never hired by Meta for such a purpose, though he acknowledged receiving funding from Mark Zuckerberg’s company on what he described as a “no-strings” basis.
Haidt is author of The Anxious Generation, which contends that smartphone use has triggered a mental health crisis among young people. His research has become influential in policy discussions globally, contributing to measures such as Australia’s social media ban for under-16s. Early this year, UK health officials sought his input on a potential social media restriction for minors.
The meeting minutes were generated before Haidt’s book was published in 2024 and addressed responses to his online writing on related topics. Haidt stated he was “not surprised” by the disclosures and noted that companies typically target the messenger when unable to dispute evidence. Meta declined to provide immediate comment.
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