CEO Mark Zuckerberg responds to the massive Facebook document dump

(CNN) — CEO Mark Zuckerberg kicked disconnected Facebook’s quarterly net telephone by addressing the latest question of coverage based connected a trove of leaked interior documents connected Monday.

“Good religion disapproval helps america get better, but my presumption is that we are seeing a coordinated effort to selectively usage leaked documents to overgarment a mendacious representation of our company,” Zuckerberg said. “The world is that we person an unfastened civilization that encourages treatment and probe connected our enactment truthful we tin marque advancement connected galore analyzable issues that are not circumstantial to conscionable us.”

The company’s results travel amid perhaps the biggest crisis in the societal media giant’s 17-year history. Tens of thousands of pages of interior documents leaked by whistleblower Frances Haugen informed the Wall Street Journal’s “Facebook Files” series, and connected Monday, a flood of further quality sum by a consortium of 17 US quality organizations, arsenic good arsenic hearings with US and UK lawmakers. The documents supply the deepest look yet astatine galore of Facebook’s biggest problems, including its struggles to modulate hatred code and misinformation, the usage of its level by quality traffickers, probe connected harms to young radical and more.

Facebook has pushed backmost connected galore of the reports, saying they are misleading and mischaracterize its probe and actions. Zuckerberg last commented on the concern pursuing Haugen’s Senate proceeding earlier this month, successful a connection successful which helium tried to discredit the whistleblower. Still, connected Friday, different erstwhile Facebook worker anonymously filed a ailment against the institution to the SEC, with allegations akin to Haugen’s.

But contempt each the atrocious headlines, the institution reminded investors connected Monday that it continues to beryllium a money-making machine.

Facebook reported $29 cardinal successful gross for the 3 months ended successful September, up 35% from the aforesaid play a twelvemonth earlier. The institution posted astir $9.2 cardinal successful profit, up 17% from the twelvemonth prior. The fig of radical utilizing Facebook’s household of apps grew 12% year-over-year, to astir 3.6 cardinal during the quarter.

The results were astir successful enactment with Wall Street analysts’ projections. Facebook’s banal roseate arsenic overmuch arsenic 3% successful after-hours trading Monday pursuing the net report, earlier falling to astir 1% higher.

Facebook is nary alien to PR crises. And successful astir cases, Facebook’s concern has continued to chug on astatine a steadfast clip contempt outcry from regulators and the public.

But this clip could beryllium different. Facebook’s monolithic advertisement concern is already successful a susceptible authorities due to the fact that of caller changes to Apple’s app tracking rules. Apple’s iOS 14.5 bundle update, which went into effect successful April, requires that users springiness explicit support for apps to way their behaviour and merchantability their idiosyncratic data, specified arsenic age, location, spending habits and wellness information, to advertisers. Facebook has aggressively pushed backmost against the changes and warned investors past twelvemonth that the update could wounded its concern if galore users opt retired of tracking.

On Monday, Facebook warned that the iOS 14 changes could make “continued headwinds” successful the 4th fourth of 2021.

“We’ve been unfastened astir the information that determination are headwinds coming and we experienced that successful Q3. The biggest is the interaction of iOS 14 changes,” COO Sheryl Sandberg said connected the company’s net telephone Monday. “As a result, we’ve encountered 2 challenges: 1 is that the accuracy of our advertisement targeting decreased, which accrued the outgo of driving outcomes for our advertisers, and the different is that measuring those outcomes became much difficult.”

While overmuch of the satellite spent the time focused connected Facebook’s real-world harms, the institution hinted to investors successful the study that it wants them looking forward, not backward. Starting successful the 4th quarter, the institution plans to interruption retired Facebook Reality Labs — its part dedicated to augmented and virtual world services — arsenic a abstracted reporting conception from its household of apps, which includes Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook’s namesake societal network.

CFO Dave Wehner said Facebook is investing truthful heavy successful this newer part that it volition trim “our wide operating nett successful 2021 by astir $10 billion.”

In a connection with the results, Zuckerberg besides focused connected what’s next: “I’m excited astir our roadmap, particularly astir creators, commerce, and helping to physique the metaverse.”

During the net call, Wall Street analysts asked overmuch much astir caller Facebook initiatives and products similar the metaverse and Instagram Reels than astir Monday’s quality coverage, a reminder that investors often prioritize the company’s imaginable for maturation implicit its imaginable for harm. Evercore ISI did inquire Zuckerberg to measure the company’s advancement connected gathering artificial quality that tin place problematic content.

Zuckerberg pointed to the company’s quarterly transparency reports, which place “what percent of the contented that we enactment connected is our AI … uncovering alternatively than radical having to study it.” He said that “in astir of these categories … 90-plus-percent of the contented that we enactment on, we’re identifying mostly done the AI system.” However, helium noted that the occurrence of its systems tin alteration by category.

“Some of the categories, similar hatred speech, person been harder,” helium said, due to the fact that “we’re operating successful astir 150 languages astir the satellite … there’s a batch of taste nuance successful this.”

Zuckerberg besides attempted to marque a rallying telephone to his staff.

“I cognize determination is simply a batch of scrutiny of our efforts, and I conjecture I conscionable privation to accidental to the squad and the radical who enactment connected this that I’m truly arrogant of the advancement that they make,” helium said.