Tag: facebook

Facebook has been at the center of many controversies recently. The Cambridge Analytica leak was a huge breach of user data that set the company on the back foot. Then, news broke that the site had been used as a platform by Russian nationals seeking to influence the outcome of the 2016 election. After some purported changes in the site’s algorithm and some nominal moves to oppose “fake news,” Facebook is back in the hot seat. This time, they’re reported to be defending Far-Right extremist Tommy Robinson and his group Britain First, among others.

“Shielded Review”

The policy in question was referred to at the time as “Shielded Review.” The way Facebook deals with groups that violate its terms of service is pretty clear. After the fifth post in the group that is evidence of hate speech, the group is shut down. However, in many instances, including the Britain First case, the group fell under “Shielded Review” (which has since been renamed “cross-check”). Shielded Review meant that, even though the offending posts were taken down, the group was allowed to continue existing. According to Facebook, this was because of the high-profile nature of the group and the large number of members. It would seem these groups are so large that their traffic makes Facebook too much money to ban outright.

Facebook’s Statement

A spokesperson for Facebook, Richard Allen, stated the following in a Tuesday blog post. “It’s clear that some of what is shown in the program does not reflect Facebook’s policies or values, and falls short of the high standards we expect,” referring to Shielded Review. “We take these mistakes in some of our training processes and enforcement incredibly seriously and are grateful to the journalists who brought them to our attention. Where we know we have made mistakes, we have taken action immediately. We are providing additional training and are working to understand exactly what happened so we can rectify it.”

Emboldening the Far-Right

This comes at a particularly sensitive time. Last year, Far-Right terrorists in Charlottesville killed a peaceful protestor, sparking national outrage. Facebook’s apparently light hand with these hate groups is especially troubling in light of this fact. It begs the question: which move is too much? Facebook has had numerous second chances to recover from costly mistakes. At some point, the company will be too deep in their own mistakes to wade back.

Papua New Guinea’s Communications Minister Sam Basil has stated that Facebook is to be shut down in the country for a month. This time, Basil said, will be used to investigate the propagation of fake news and pornography on the site.  

Facebook In Hot Water… Again 

This news comes on the heels of Zuckerburg’s European apology tour related to the numerous scandals the site has been involved in recently. Firstly, the company was the center of the Cambridge Analytica data breach. Secondly, the investigation of the Donald Trump campaign found that Russian organizations used the social media platform to influence the election.  While the news out of Papua New Guinea isn’t directly tied to these incidents, they help add some context for the decision.

Recent advertisements by Facebook attempt to make light of this, promising to make the site “fun” again. Facebook’s content algorithm continues to generate countless debates. The amount of comments, reactions and buzz around controversial posts makes them rise in the news feed. This leads to a feedback loop and causes the platform to be rife with arguments and fake news.  

Papua New Guinea 

Basil’s statements echo these fears. The Communications Minister even went so far as to suggest the country should develop its own social media platform. While Facebook is down in the country, the government will investigate its use and userbase. Fake profiles used to disseminate fake news are of particular note to the investigation. 

A Facebook representative has stated “We have reached out to the Papua New Guinea government to understand their concerns.” It seems as though this contact hasn’t stopped Papua New Guinea’s government from going ahead with the shutdown, though. In the meantime, Facebook’s has cemented its place in the ongoing debate over fake news. It will likely remain there for the foreseeable future, as well.  

Facebook is experimenting with a downvote button in certain markets. But before you get excited, it’s not the same thing as a dislike button. We’re still waiting for a thumbs-down react option, but in the meantime, there will be a new way to rank comments so that the “best” content appears first.

Follow the Arrows

In addition to the set of emoji reacts—like, love, haha, wow, sad, and angry—you’ll soon be able to hit an up or down arrow to show whether a comment was helpful, insightful, or relevant to the discussion.

This new feature mimics other platforms like Reddit or the commenting system Disqus, used by many sites around the web. After the hits Facebook’s reputation has taken recently, the move can be seen as part of an overall strategy to make the social media site a more appealing place to spend your time. By downvoting comments that are disrespectful, hateful, or off-topic, users have more control over the content that’s displayed.

Fostering Communication

The goal with the downvote option is ultimately to clean up the comments with less hate and fake news. “People have told us they would like to see better public discussions on Facebook, and want spaces where people with different opinions can have more constructive dialogue,” a Facebook spokesperson said. “Our hope is that this feature will make it easier for us to create such spaces, by ranking the comments that readers believe deserve to rank highest, rather than the comments that get the strongest emotional reaction.”

Limited Trial Run

For now, the feature is only available in New Zealand and Australia. Assuming everything goes well there, the social media giant intends to extend the downvote feature to other territories. No word on when it will arrive in the US, but you can probably expect to see the upvote/downvote options sometime this year. As for how Facebook plans to deal with potential abuse of the system…well, we will have to wait and see.