Over the weekend a Facebook whistleblower accused the social media platform of prioritising profit over dealing with misinformation and hate speech.

Frances Haugen, who worked as a product manager on the civic misinformation team at Facebook, revealed her identity as the person who leaked documents to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in an interview with CBS programme 60 minutes.

“Its own research is showing that content that is hateful, that is divisive, that is polarising, it’s easier to inspire people to anger than it is to other emotions,” she told the programme on Sunday. “Facebook has realised that if they change the algorithm to be safer, people will spend less time on the site, they’ll click on less ads, they’ll make less money.”

The interview follows the newspaper’s publication of a number of articles about the impact of Facebook platforms like Instagram on the mental health of young people.

On Wednesday, the WSJ released the leaked internal documents, which showed that Instagram-owner Facebook is aware that the platform is “toxic for teenage girls.”

The research found that appearance-based social comparison on Instagram is common, impacting a third of people, and nearly half of teen girls.

Last week, the technology giant’s head of safety testified to the US Senate about child protection.

Haugen is also planning on testifying at a Senate inquiry on the impact of Instagram on young people’s mental health this Tuesday.

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