Meta staff discussed how to turn academics and the press against Jonathan Haidt, the New York University professor who links social media to a mental health crisis among teen girls, according to internal notes made public last week in the federal social media addiction litigation.
The documents were filed Friday, October 23, in the multidistrict litigation before Chief Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland. They became public after Meta re-reviewed documents it had withheld as privileged.
The Haidt Assignment
The notes come from Meta meetings in early March 2023, weeks after Haidt published an essay arguing that social media is a major cause of mental illness among teen girls. Haidt is the author of the bestselling book “The Anxious Generation.”
According to the notes, Meta vice president Curtiss Cobb framed the goal as getting the academic community to disavow Haidt. The notes describe a quiet, below-the-radar effort aimed at the media and other researchers, which they called a “whisper strategy,” and mention getting someone referred to as “Gellman” to write a takedown piece. Columbia University statistician Andrew Gelman wrote this week that no one from Facebook or Meta ever contacted him about Haidt. The documents do not show whether Meta carried out the plan.
Other documents describe Meta’s well-being researchers pushing back against company lawyers who tried to block or reshape a study of how social media affects teens, and a 2022 email warning executives, including then global affairs head Nick Clegg, that a presentation to the National Academies of Sciences could invite questions about app design the company hoped to avoid.
Haidt told the New York Post he was not surprised by the documents. Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Privilege Fight
The plaintiffs have accused Meta of using attorney-client privilege to hide damaging records. After Meta’s own re-review of 300 withheld documents found more than half should not have been withheld, Judge Gonzalez Rogers ordered further review. Meta agreed to re-review about 170,000 documents, and retired judge Suzanne Segal was appointed special master to review what Meta still withholds.
Privilege fights also shaped the states’ trial against Meta in August. Four days in, after the judge ordered a partially redacted document unsealed, Meta settled with the state attorneys general. That settlement pays the states, not families, and has no claim form for families.
Meanwhile, the second California trial against Meta and Snap opened with jury selection on October 28. For the full picture, see the Social Media Addiction Lawsuit Update.
Doyle APC handles social media addiction lawsuits together with experienced co-counsel.
Common Questions
Who is Jonathan Haidt?
A social psychologist at New York University’s Stern School of Business and the author of “The Anxious Generation,” which ties declining teen mental health to smartphones and social media.
Why do these documents matter in the lawsuits?
The plaintiffs allege Meta knew its apps harmed teens and hid it. Internal records about what the company studied and said are central evidence.
Will more Meta documents come out?
Likely. A special master is reviewing documents Meta still withholds as privileged, in batches.
Is the social media addiction lawsuit a class action?
No. It is a mass tort. Each person files an individual claim, and the claims are coordinated for pretrial proceedings and test trials.
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