Whistleblower to Congress: Facebook products harm kids and democracy

Re:Whistleblower to Congress: Facebook products harm kids an... by yodsanklai on Tuesday October 05, 2021 @12:01PM (#28761268)

I don't know if people become antivaxxer because of FB. Antivaxxers and science deniers didn't wait for FB to believe in their theories. It's like blaming the telephone because terrorists use it.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Whistleblower to Congress: Facebook products harm kids an... by haswell on Tuesday October 05, 2021 @12:54PM (#28762059)

I think a lot of folks are conflating two issues:

1. The existence of social media

2. The application of carefully optimized algorithms that prioritize problematic content

To be a fair comparison, I think you need to reframe the telephone example: If the telephone system specifically prioritized communication related to terrorism, it would be fair to blame the telephone system and call for changes to how it operates.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Whistleblower to Congress: Facebook products harm kids an... by spywaregorilla on Tuesday October 05, 2021 @12:07PM (#28761339)

Exposure to radical content is like... the main point being whistleblown here. Antivax is one of the most common examples.

It's not "Hey want to deny science?". It's "Vaccines change your DNA", "Vaccines contain mercury", "The Vaccine is not FDA approved, could it be because it causes cancer"? Many, many people had no opinion on vaccines and were radicalized on it.

[ Parent | on HN ]