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How Facebook Is Influencing Who Will Win the Next Election
An anonymous reader sends this excerpt from Forbes:
[Facebook] announced yesterday that it was shutting down a feature that the Obama campaign used in 2012 to register over a million voters. During the election supporters shared access to their list of Facebook friends list with the campaign through an app. Researchers have found that while people view often political messages with skepticism, they are more receptive and trusting when the information is coming from somebody they know. The feature was credited with boosting Obama’s get-out-the-vote efforts which were crucial to his victory, but Facebook has decided to disable this ability in order to (rightfully) protect users from third-party apps collecting too much of their information.
The company insists that it favors no particular ideology and that its efforts are “neutral.” The first part is likely true, but the second is not possible. The company’s algorithms take into account a proprietary mix of our own biases, connections, and interests combined with Facebook’s business priorities; that is the farthest thing from neutral. Facebook says it just want to encourage “civic participation,” but politically mobilizing the subsection of people that are on their network is not without its own impacts.
The company insists that it favors no particular ideology and that its efforts are “neutral.” The first part is likely true, but the second is not possible. The company’s algorithms take into account a proprietary mix of our own biases, connections, and interests combined with Facebook’s business priorities; that is the farthest thing from neutral. Facebook says it just want to encourage “civic participation,” but politically mobilizing the subsection of people that are on their network is not without its own impacts.
Nobody cares about policy, and rightfully so. Faces change, policy doesn't.
The company insists that it favors no particular ideology and that its efforts are âoeneutral.â The first part is likely true, but the second is not possible.
That second part may still be possible if our learned friends *cough* lawyers *cough* are involved.
"Setting up a scapegoat"? How so?
This change is good for the users of Facebook. The idea that this might change who becomes president shows how bad the US political system is. Facebook does not have a responsibility to influence politics in any way.
Thank you, Bradley Manning, Edward Snowden and so many others, for courageously defending humanity, my freedom and more!
Not even $10, imagine if Facebook gave people a new wanted feature (I have no examples because I don't use FB) for their votes.
How many users would accept? What portion of the population would sell their vote for an iphone?
Politicians have won every election. And the american people has been the loosers every time. Seems properly rigged already.
For the last year or so, the main thing Facebook has been influencing me to do is to stay away from Facebook.
They're shutting down a feature that one campaign used to spread their message - and this is influencing? Surely it's stopping an influence?
> protect users from third-party apps collecting too much of
their information.
Right, because Facebook hates competition from third-party apps that collect too much user information.
Vote Zuckerberg 2016!
After the results if this midterm election, it's not surprising Facebook is ending their get out the vote program?
Why? Because Millenials are increasingly voting Republican and Libertarian after decades of lip service from the Democrats. Jobs, college debt, and personal liberty are extremely important issues to this generation.
Facebook, with its left leaning executives, would see no reason to mobilize their opposition's base.
Republicans are far too stupid to use it.
Cripes most republicans are so ragingly stupid they think the world is 6000 years old and we faked the moon landings.
You have to be that stupid to think that marriage has ANYTHING to do with the bible.
...I'd love it if routine Facebook use invalidated your vote.
-Styopa
Why not? It's as meaningful as any other method.
Now that the method was demonstrated on the 2012 election they are pulling the pin on the grenade so the typical flip back election is less likely. Hmmm.
terrorists should attack faceplant er book
so how is the jews latest spyware dong
The /. post's author says "The company insists that it favors no particular ideology and that its efforts are “neutral.” The first part is likely true..."
Completely false. Zuckerberg is as far left as they come. I'm not aiming to make this discussion political, but it's abundantly obvious in the policies he, and by extension his company, endorse. Obama tells Zuckerberg "Jump" and Mark immediately asks "How high?"
Dude, if this means no more streams of gold invites when I don't want them I'll just be crushed. What will I di with myself if half my facebook experience doesn't involve disabling requests from apps my friends use?
On a side note: people still use Facebook?
This signature has Super Cow Powers
Republicans probably asked to become a part of the program. Facebook wants to look "neutral" so it shuts the program down. Democrats already have their base signed up as "friends" and have all their private data so they're relatively good with it for the next two or three election cycles.
Mission accomplished.