Frances Haugen

Whistleblowers & Insiders · Meta (formerly Facebook), Beyond the Screen

The Facebook product manager who leaked internal research showing the company knew Instagram harmed teen mental health.

Frances Haugen worked as a product manager at Facebook before leaving the company in 2021 and coming forward as the source behind what became known as the Facebook Files. Her Senate testimony that October drew on leaked internal research showing Facebook's own researchers had found Instagram worsened body-image and mental-health struggles for some teen girls, and that leadership had been informed of the findings. The disclosures triggered congressional hearings, new state lawsuits, and years of scrutiny into how the platform's algorithms and design choices affect young users. She later wrote a memoir, The Power of One (2023), and founded Beyond the Screen to continue pushing for tech accountability.