Facebook Executives Shut Down Efforts to Make the Site Less Divisive
Posted on AllSides May 27th, 2020
From The Center
A Facebook Inc. FB -1.32% team had a blunt message for senior executives. The company’s algorithms weren’t bringing people together. They were driving people apart.
“Our algorithms exploit the human brain’s attraction to divisiveness,” read a slide from a 2018 presentation. “If left unchecked,” it warned, Facebook would feed users “more and more divisive content in an effort to gain user attention & increase time on the platform.”
That presentation went to the heart of a question dogging Facebook almost since its founding: Does its platform aggravate polarization and tribal...
Some content from this outlet may be limited or behind a paywall.
