[ad_1]
The Journal relied on internal company documents it obtained to show Facebook (FB) knows “down to the last detail” the problems of its platforms. The various harms for users are well documented. But, in the words of the Journal, Facebook “hasn’t fixed” the flaws.
So: Social platforms are addictive and often harmful. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, told the Journal that “Facebook appears to be taking a page from the Big Tobacco manual – targeting teens with potentially dangerous products while hiding the science in public. “
US Rep. Ken Buck, a Republican, tweeted, “Big Tech has become the new Big Tobacco. Facebook is lying about how their product harms teens.”
The series is important because it comes with evidence. “Time and time again, documents show that Facebook researchers have identified the platform’s adverse effects,” the Journal says. “Time and time again, despite congressional hearings, its own pledges, and numerous media briefings, the company has not corrected them. himself. “
Regarding the CEO of the company, Friday’s story had his name in the headline: “How Facebook Hindered Mark Zuckerberg’s Offer to Get America Vaccinated.”
Here is where to discover the whole series.
It was a very big week for the Journal. Is there more reporting work to do? Absoutely. I feel like the series gave inspiration to the newsroom, and that may not be the Journal’s last word on Facebook files.
Facebook’s new response
The company’s response to the five-part series was measured during the work week. Facebook could have deployed spokespersons and surrogates in TV shows, for example, but it didn’t. I noticed Joe Scarborough on MSNBC saying “Facebook reminds me of heavy tobacco” because “they know their product is harmful to people”.
There was no rebuttal from the company on its show.
But Facebook vice president of global affairs Nick Clegg posted a seven paragraph blog post on Saturday, objecting to parts of the Journal series.
“At the heart of this series is a simply bogus claim: that Facebook conducts research and then systematically and intentionally ignores it if the results are inconvenient for the business. It challenges the motivations and hard work of thousands of researchers, policy experts and engineers at Facebook who strive to improve the quality of our products and understand their wider impact (positive and negative) ” , Clegg said.
Clegg lamented what he called the “questioning” of Facebook’s motives. In response to concerns from some observers, the company may stop doing internal research because some of it has been leaked to the Journal, Clegg said: “We will continue to invest in research into these serious and complex issues. . Questions. And we will continue to improve our products and services accordingly. “
He also appeared to address Facebook’s comparisons with Big Tobacco. “The truth is, research into the impact of social media on people is still relatively nascent and evolving, and social media itself is evolving rapidly,” he said.
FB disinformation doesn’t happen in a vacuum
Newspaper reporter Jeff Horwitz, who received a lot of praise this week, tweeted Friday “Some Facebook members told me we should pay more attention to how the interaction between social media and news cable television has affected public debate on Covid vaccines, including on platforms. ”He agreed with this assessment, he
noted.
Former Twitter and Facebook executive Nu Wexler
noted he also agreed: “If we’re measuring the reach / engagement of health disinformation on FB, we need a way to compare it to Hannity’s nighttime audience or a governor’s impact. / senator saying the same things IRL. “
More reading and listening
– “There’s a lot to unbox” from “Facebook Files,” writes CNN’s Allison Morrow. “But one thing that stands out is how blatantly documented Facebook’s problems are, using the kind of straightforward observational prose not often found in internal communications of multinational corporations.”
–Washington Post columnist Will Oremus says he sees a pattern emerging: “Facebook continues to research its own wrongdoing – and bury the findings.”
– Friday’s “Files” story describes a gathering of Facebook executives in and around its Menlo Park headquarters earlier this month in which “the tone of some attendees was,” We made the machine and we can’t control the machine, ”one of the people said.
– David Kirkpatrick, who wrote a “generally positive” book (his words) on FB a decade ago, says that “the Journal series can herald major change, even for those who are jaded and expect nothing from Other than the evasion and apathy of this incredibly powerful company, the articles suggest that it could start to be widely seen as an outlaw company.
– Atlantic’s Derek Thompson says Journal series emphasizes that social media is “alcohol of attention:” Like alcohol, he says, “social media seems to offer an intoxicating cocktail of dopamine, disorientation and, for some, dependence ”.
– On Monday, the Journal will organize a live question-and-answer session with several journalists on the findings of the “Facebook Files”. There is also an accompanying podcast series on Spotify.
A version of this article first appeared in the “Reliable Sources” newsletter. You can register for free here.
[ad_2]
Source link
