Instead of publishing the findings or commissioning further research, Meta's leadership shut the project down. Internal correspondence, cite
A hot potato: In 2020, Meta launched an internal research effort called Project Mercury to examine the psychological effects of Facebook use. Working with market research firm Nielsen, the company ran a survey-based experiment that asked selected users to deactivate their Facebook accounts for a week. Newly unsealed discovery documents reveal that those who stepped away reported noticeably lower levels of depression, anxiety, loneliness, and negative social comparison. Instead of publishing the findings or commissioning further research, Meta's leadership shut the project down. Internal correspondence, cited in a lawsuit brought by US school districts, reveals that the company questioned the study's validity, attributing its results to prevailing negative press about social media. At least one researcher involved in the project argued internally that the survey pointed to a causal link between Facebook use and social comparison stress. Internal discussions even likened Meta's handling of the data to the tobacco industry's efforts to obscure the health effects of cigarette use. According to documents cited in the complaint, Meta also failed to share these results with Congress, maintaining instead that it had no definitive evidence of harm to teenage users, especially girls – a position that conflicted with its own internal research.
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