Frances Haugen, Facebook Whistleblower: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Frances Haugen is a former Facebook employee who revealed herself as the whistleblower who provided private research documents to The Wall Street Journal for its Facebook Files project. Haugen was a product manager at Facebook until May 2021 and has worked for several major tech and social media companies during her 15-year career. Haugen revealed her identity during an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes on Sunday, October 3, 2021.

The 37-year-old Haugen wrote on her website that in 2019 she, “was recruited to Facebook to be the lead Product Manager on the Civic Misinformation team which dealt with issues related to democracy, misinformation and she later also worked on counter-espionage.” Haugen added, “During her time at Facebook, Frances became increasingly alarmed by the choices the company makes prioritizing their own profits over public safety — putting people’s lives at risk. As a last resort and at great personal risk, Frances made the courageous act to blow the whistle on Facebook.”