The Facebook Papers were leaked by whistleblower and former Facebook product manager Frances Haugen, who acquired stacks of documents including memos, chat logs and hidden research. In this, she hoped to convince the federal government that Facebook is deeply flawed, boosting hate, misinformation and political controversy, which the company knows but hides, according to The Associated Press.
The documents were first published by the Wall Street Journal, and were also handed to members of a Senate Commerce subcommittee, according to Gizmodo. Now, a group of experts are teaming up to make the papers public.
“We believe there’s a strong public need in making as many of the documents public as possible, as quickly as possible. To that end, we’ve partnered with a small group of independent monitors, who are joining us to establish guidelines for an accountable review of the documents prior to publication,” Gizmodo wrote. “The mission is to minimize any costs to individuals’ privacy or the furtherance of other harms while ensuring the responsible disclosure of the greatest amount of information in the public interest.”
Among this group is Zuckerman, who according to his UMass bio, is a media expert and member of the College of Information and Computer Sciences “focused on reimagining the Internet as a tool for civic engagement.”
Zuckerman posted to Twitter Monday after the announcement writing he is “Excited to work with @Gizmodo to get all the documents associated with the Facebook Papers into the hands of the general public in the very near future. Pleased to be working with such talented academics on the redaction process and standards.”
Other names on the list of experts include Daniel Kahn Gillmor, senior staff technologist at the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project; Pri Bengani, senior research fellow at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University; Michael Zimmer, an associate professor in computer science at Marquette University; Damon McCoy, an associate professor in computer science and engineering at the New York University Tandon School of Engineering; and Laura Edelson, a PhD candidate in computer science at the New York University Tandon School of Engineering.
Gizmodo goes onto explain how much Facebook has changed, away from a social tool for college students looking for parties, and into a giant company with worldwide influence.
“At its best, Facebook is a tool that connects billions, narrowing the divide between disparate peoples and cultures in ways previously unimaginable. At its worst, it has served as history’s most efficient delivery system for toxic propaganda, empowering bigots and extremists to commit egregious crimes against humanity, quite literally being wielded as an instrument of war,” the website read.
The group is eager to release the first batch of documents, which they say will likely consist of mostly documents that warrant the least amount of inspection.
“Beyond privacy reasons, the documents require additional review to ensure that we aren’t just handing criminals and spies a roadmap for undermining what controls Facebook does have in place to defend against propaganda that spreads lies, hate, and fear,” Gizmodo wrote. “That would undermine any benefit the world stands to reap from this act of whistleblower justice.”
They encourage those interested to continue checking back for updates.
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