Re:Departing Facebook security officer advocated for shifts ...
by snowwrestler on Tuesday July 24, 2018 @09:54PM
(#17606380)
Well to be specific, when it comes to how content gets distributed across a billion Facebook newsfeeds...
The big problem is not that Facebook the company is picking sides, the big problem is that Facebook the company built a machine to pick sides, and told the machine to base its decisions solely on how much reaction content gets from people. So of course it over-prioritizes the worst, most shocking, most manipulative, most extreme content--because that's what gets the biggest reactions.
And the really big problem is that Facebook either doesn't understand, or wants to pretend it doesn't understand, why that is bad.
Understanding, accepting the implications, and doing something--that's what Facebook needs to do.
The big problem is not that Facebook the company is picking sides, the big problem is that Facebook the company built a machine to pick sides, and told the machine to base its decisions solely on how much reaction content gets from people. So of course it over-prioritizes the worst, most shocking, most manipulative, most extreme content--because that's what gets the biggest reactions.
And the really big problem is that Facebook either doesn't understand, or wants to pretend it doesn't understand, why that is bad.
Understanding, accepting the implications, and doing something--that's what Facebook needs to do.