{
  "id": 17588375,
  "title": "Meta Discussed 'Whisper Strategy' to Discredit Social Media Critic Jonathan Haidt, Files Show",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/01/meta-discussed-whisper-strategy-to-discredit-social-media-critic",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-01T11:34:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Slashdot",
    "slug": "slashdot",
    "url": "https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/10/31/0559203/meta-discussed-whisper-strategy-to-discredit-social-media-critic-jonathan-haidt-files-show"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Court documents reveal that Meta employees explored a \"whisper strategy\" to undermine the reputation of a prominent US academic, Jonathan Haidt, according to The Guardian. Haidt, author of The Anxious Generation, has been influential in the global debate around social media safety, leading to stricter measures like the recent under-16 ban in Australia. Internal meetings, detailed in a legal filing, show discussions on how to persuade the academic community to distance themselves from Haidt. The strategy aimed to \"enrage\" Haidt and discredit his work, with no mention of loud tactics. The minutes also refer to Meta's then vice-president of research, Curtiss Cobb. It remains unclear if Meta implemented these plans.",
  "summary": "The Guardian reports: Meta staff discussed deploying a \"whisper strategy\" to undermine the influential US academic whose work has inspired a global social media crackdown, according to court documents. Employees at the parent group of Facebook and Instagram sought to discredit Jonathan Haidt, the social psychologist and author of The Anxious Generation, a book that helped tip the debate about…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Guardian Technology",
        "title": "Meta discussed ‘whisper strategy’ against social media critic Jonathan Haidt, files show",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/meta-discussed-whisper-strategy-against-social-media-critic-jonathan",
        "published": "2026-10-29T17:20:57.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Engadget",
        "title": "Meta settles another social media addiction case just before trial",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/meta-settles-another-social-media-addiction-case-just-before-trial",
        "published": "2026-10-30T20:21:28.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Slashdot",
        "title": "Meta Settles Another Social Media Addiction Case Just Before Trial",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/meta-settles-another-social-media-addiction-case-just-before-trial-17301339",
        "published": "2026-10-30T22:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}