Court filings show Meta weighed a covert campaign against social psychologist Jonathan Haidt

Newly filed court documents reveal that Meta, facing public pressure over teen mental health and upcoming child safety trials, discussed a campaign to discredit critic Jonathan Haidt. In March 2023, the company reportedly considered a 'whisper strategy' aimed at turning academics against him. Haidt, a social psychologist, had argued that social media drives rising adolescent depression and anxiety, and had testified to Congress on these views in 2022. At the time he had not yet published his bestselling book The Anxious Generation, but had begun sharing his research more widely on Substack in February 2023.