The 'Facebook Files' Investigation Highlights Key Concerns in the Platform's Approach

by WarriorForum.com Administrator
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A new article on Social Media Today reports that the biggest social media news story last week was 'The Facebook Files,' a selection of internal documents revealing various investigations into the societal impacts of The Social Network, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.



The full Facebook Files series is well worth reading for anyone interested in the impacts of social media more broadly, but in summary, the key discoveries of the reports are:
  • Facebook has a system in place which subjects high profile users to a different review process than regular users
  • Facebook-commissioned studies have repeatedly found that Instagram can have harmful mental health impacts on users
  • Facebook's 'Family and Friends' algorithm update in 2018, designed to reduce angst on the platform, actually increased division
  • Facebook is not doing enough to address potential harms it's causing in developing nations
  • Anti-vaccine activists have used Facebook to sow doubt and spread fear about the COVID-19 vaccine deployment

For most of us, none of these revelations in themselves is anything new - everyone who's done any research into Facebook and its algorithms would be aware of the harms that it can and indeed has caused over time. Facebook itself has said that it is addressing all of these elements and evolving its tools in line with its internal findings.

What is interesting about the Facebook Files is the revelation of what Facebook itself actually knows and what its own data has shown in regards to these impacts, which also suggests that it could be doing more to address such problems. Is it hesitating because of concerns over business impacts? That's the bottom line of the WSJ investigation, that Facebook knows that it's causing widespread societal harm and amplifying negative elements, but it's been slow to act on such because it could hurt usage.
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