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November 1, 2023
Drummond files litigation against social media giant Meta for knowingly damaging mental health of youth

OKLAHOMA CITY – Attorney General Gentner Drummond filed a lawsuit last week against Meta for knowingly designing and deploying harmful features on Instagram, Facebook and its other social media platforms that are addictive to children and teens. Meta also falsely assured the public that its platforms were safe for young users.

The lawsuit is one of several filed across the nation in state and federal courts. A federal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California was joined by 33 states. Oklahoma is one of eight states filing lawsuits in their own state courts, along with the District of Columbia.

“Meta has fueled the youth mental health crisis we are facing by taking advantage of vulnerable children and teens with unfair and deceptive practices,” Drummond said. “The company has enriched itself by pushing young social media users onto its platforms and then exploiting the vulnerabilities of children and teens to turn a profit.”

The complaint alleges that Meta knew of the harmful impact of its platforms on young people and that instead of taking steps to mitigate these harms, the company misled the public about the dangers associated with it. While much of the complaint relies on confidential material not yet available to the public, available sources – including those previously released by former Meta employees – detail that Meta profited by using algorithms that push young users into descending “rabbit holes” to maximize engagement.

Features like push notifications, infinite scroll and the automatic playing of short videos were created with the express goal of hooking young users and keeping them glued to Meta’s platforms. Additionally, these manipulative tactics are engineered to lure children and teens back onto the platform, particularly Instagram, after they log off. About 80 percent of Oklahoma teenagers are monthly users of Instagram, according to Meta.

As Aza Raskin, the original developer of the infinite scroll concept, noted to the BBC about the feature’s addictive qualities: “If you don’t give your brain time to catch up with your impulses, . . . you just keep scrolling.”

Meta knew these addictive features harmed the physical and mental health of young people, including body dissatisfaction, negative social comparisons and undermining their ability to get adequate sleep. The impact of Instagram is particularly devastating for girls, according to Meta’s own research.

But Meta neither disclosed the harm nor made meaningful changes to minimize that damage. Instead, the company claimed its platforms were safe.

According to Meta’s own data, more than 1 million Oklahomans in 2020 were daily users of Instagram, with teenagers accounting for more than 20 percent of that number.

The lawsuit alleges that Meta’s actions violate the Oklahoma Consumer Protection Act. The complaint seeks injunctive and monetary relief to rectify the harms caused by these platforms.

sports
Eufaula Indian Journal names Players of the Year
By Rodney Haltom sports EDITOR 
November 29, 2023
The Eufaula Ironheads had another exciting and winning season (7-4), ending it in a loss to Vian in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs. Eufaula head coach Larry Newton and staff did a fantastic ...
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Presenting the Evelyn Mynhier Food Pantry
news
Presenting the Evelyn Mynhier Food Pantry
By CHERYL CAMPBELL COURTESY 
November 29, 2023
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Basketball Action Starts this Week
sports
Basketball Action Starts this Week
November 29, 2023
The2023 McIntosh County Basketball Preview will be released December 7,2023 The Eufaula Ironheads will kick off the season Tuesday with a road game against Muldrow with a start time of 6 p.m.. On Frid...
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sports
Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame announces Class of 2024 Inductees
November 29, 2023
The Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame is extremely proud to introduce the six inductees that will join the Hall next year as part of the Class of 2024. Steve Davis*, Football Patty McGraw-Coatney, Golf Mik...
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sports
2023 Big 12 Championship Game set : Texas vs. Oklahoma State
By Rodney Haltom sports EDITOR 
November 29, 2023
No. 20 Oklahoma State locked up the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 Championship Game by outlasting BYU in a 40-34 double-overtime victory Saturday. The Cowboys will play No. 1-seea Texas at 12 p.m. ET on De...
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Betty Nadine Bumgarner
Obituaries
Betty Nadine Bumgarner
November 29, 2023
Betty Nadine Bumgarner, 79, of Eufaula, Oklahoma, passed away Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023, at the St. Francis Hospital of Muskogee. Betty was born on Jan. 3, 1944, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the daughter of Pres...
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Quote of the Week
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Quote of the Week
November 29, 2023
“Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it.” – William Penn
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news
State launches suspicious activity reporting app
November 29, 2023
Anonymous reporting for suspicious behavior OKLAHOMA CITY – Better safety is coming to children in Oklahoma with the launch of the ProtectOK app for reporting safety threats. Created by the State of O...
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Farm bill may not pass by end of year
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Farm bill may not pass by end of year
By MADDY KEYES GAYLORD NEWS 
November 29, 2023
WASHINGTON — With just days until the country faces another potential government shutdown, it appears unlikely that Congress will pass a new Farm Bill before current funding expires at the end of the ...
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Westyn Ford
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Westyn Ford
November 29, 2023
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Preston Haltom
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Preston Haltom
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