This summer, I asked my mother if I could see her Facebook newsfeed. I was surprised by how much political content I saw–much of it on politically-charged topics such as President Biden, abortion, vaccination, mask mandates, and Donald Trump. Some of it came from my mother’s septuagenarian friends, some came from advocacy orgs she had given to, and most of it had a callous, mocking tone for people on the other side of the political spectrum.
The major point made by Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen on 60 Minutes Sunday night was that all this is by design.
“Its own research is showing that content that is hateful, that is divisive, that is polarizing, it’s easier to inspire people to anger than it is to other emotions,” Haugen said during the interview. “Facebook has realized that if they change the algorithm to be safer, people will spend less time on the site, they’ll click on less ads, they’ll make less money.”
Haugen, who is 37, worked in Facebook’s…
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Source : fastcompany.com
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