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Internal Docs Show Human Intervention at Almost Every Stage Of Facebook's News Operation (theguardian.com)

Posted by msmash on from the facebook-and-how-it-works dept.

More evidence has surfaced to support Gawker's two recent reports that claimed editors manipulate the trending news and a few other aspects on Facebook. The Guardian, citing leaked documents it obtained, reports that the topics one sees on Facebook are determined on a number of factors including "engagement, timeliness, Pages you've liked and your location." From the report: But the documents show that the company relies heavily on the intervention of a small editorial team to determine what makes its "trending module" headlines -- the list of news topics that shows up on the side of the browser window on Facebook's desktop version. The company backed away from a pure-algorithm approach in 2014 after criticism that it had not included enough coverage of unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, in users' feeds. The guidelines show human intervention -- and therefore editorial decisions -- at almost every stage of Facebook's trending news operation, a team that at one time was as few as 12 people.Sam Biddle of Gawker, wrote: Never trust what a company tells you, on/off record -- FB straight up lied to Recode last year. He adds: unless they're under oath a company like Facebook has every incentive to lie about how it operates. It's not illegal to lie to a reporter!"

Update: 05/12 20:49 GMT by M : Facebook has published a blog post in which it explains how Trending Topics on its platform works. The company insists that there is no discrimination against sources of any political origin.

9 of 215 comments (clear)

  1. Facebook is not a monopoly by D.McG. · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Facebook can place on their website whatever the hell they like. They are not a monopoly subject to government oversight. Facebook will not be testifying before a committee on this manner.

    1. Re:Facebook is not a monopoly by rahvin112 · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Ah but see Conservatives are being persecuted, that means we need BIG GOVERNMENT to come in and make sure no conservatives are being persecuted by private citizens and corporations.

      See BIG GOVERNMENT is only bad when it does things I don't like, when it does things I do like, including violating the speech rights of people it's perfectly reasonable. This is a prime tenet of the anti-BIG GOVERNMENT movement in the republican party.

  2. Facebook is a public company... by QuietLagoon · · Score: 5, Insightful
    ... and a public company has an obligation to its shareholders to make as much money as possible.

    .
    Facebook is an entertainment company, not a news company. Facebook's business goal is to ~encourage~ its users to visit the site as often as possible and stay as long as possible.

    It is completely and wholly Facebook's prerogative how Facebook accomplishes its business goals, with legal parameters, of course.

    So long as Facebook is not breaking the law, I say that the complainers should take their whining somewhere else.

    And to those idiots in Congress who are wasting public money on this, why in the world are you messing with facebook when the good people of Flint, MI still cannot drink the water?

  3. non sequitur by s.petry · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Are you attempting to imply that they lied about Facebook? Are you attempting to claim that Facebook lying to customers has no impact? Are you trying to claim that because one person did something wrong they can never point out that another did something wrong? Are you trying to claim that Facebook is innocent? What is the point, perhaps simply a cheap attempt at karma whoring?

    --

    -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

  4. Re:Napoleon by Comboman · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Facebook is a social network/farm simulator. Anyone who relies on it for their news deserves what they get.

    --
    Support Right To Repair Legislation.
  5. Seriously... by JustNiz · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Anyone who uses Facebook as their primary news source deserves all they get.

  6. Re:HU-Man? by schwit1 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Who was deciding that not "enough" people were posting about it to make the newsfeeds....?" That would be the black lies matter cabal.

  7. Re:Shit me hard with a stick, people are dumb. by tsotha · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Republicans don't care what you do with your reproductive organs. But when you're hosting another human being, we think that human being deserves some legal protection. Yes, that literally is to "protect the children".

  8. You know what would happen without humans? by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Algorithm only:
    - Ten coolest cat photos of 2015
    - Scientists prove vaccines cause autism
    - The global warming hoax debunked.
    - See celebrity sex tapes online!
    - Obama's secret communist manifesto revealed.
    - 30 Signs That An Eastern European Girl Isn’t Relationship Material
    - Russia's nuclear ambitions and how to prepare with our five-gallon soup buckets.
    - Is the dress blue or gold?
    - Why the homosexual mafia is after YOUR child!

    There's a reason facebook has a human team moderating the feed. Without it you'd get what people are actually doing online, and people are stupid. It'd be a mixture of inane tripe, conspiracy theories and scams, topped off by the occasional article based on blatant sexism, racism or homophobia and, of course, a bit of porn.