Facebook uses the news feed to present positive stories about itself: report



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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg last month approved a plan to use Facebook’s “news feed” to promote positive coverage of the struggling social media platform in an effort to improve its image. , according to a report released Tuesday.

Dubbed “Project Amplify,” the plan “shocked” several Facebook executives when it was unveiled at an internal meeting in January, The New York Times reported, citing a participant familiar with what happened. . Facebook had never used its “News Feed” section to promote positive coverage about itself.

Besides the positive news, the initiative also called for the promotion of certain posts written by Facebook employees. Users would see posts marked with a Facebook logo linked to stories written by the company or local media. Facebook is said to have tested the initiative in three US cities after Zuckerberg approved it in August.

In response to the Times report, Facebook spokesperson Joe Osborne said the Amplify project was “a test for a unit of information clearly marked as coming from Facebook.”

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Osborne argued that the initiative was “similar to the corporate responsibility initiatives that people see in other technologies and consumer products.”

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Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.

The report details several efforts by Facebook to improve its reputation amid intense public pressure on the company’s handling of various scandals, including concerns about user privacy, hate speech, the spread of misinformation and the impact of social media on mental health.

Current and former Facebook employees told the outlet that executives earlier this year decided to “go on the offensive” after the platform’s previous apology position on matters of public interest failed to change his reputation.

The company allegedly tried to distance Zuckerberg from Facebook’s response to the scandals. Instead, Zuckerberg started posting articles on new products and initiatives.

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The Times reported that Facebook has also taken steps to limit access to internal data.

Osborne has denied that Facebook has changed its messaging strategy.

Facebook has been the subject of several critical reports in recent days. Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal ran a series of articles detailing leaked internal research on Facebook, including data acknowledging that Instagram was negatively impacting the mental health of teenage users.

The Senate Trade Committee is expected to hold a hearing on the impact of social media on children’s safety in the coming days, which is expected to be attended by executives from major platforms, including Facebook.

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