"Bullshit is highly engaging"

These words written by a former Facebook designer aptly describe the problem that the company faces. Dissatisfied with the Facebook’s response to allegations that fake news on the site may have influenced the election, employees have formed an unofficial task force to air their grievances. They claim that Facebook knew what was happening and had the tools to take corrective action but didn’t. The platform has effective standards tools – as seen in the removal of breast cancer videos or the image of the napalm girl – but leadership was unwilling to use these methods to eliminate fake news.

Meanwhile, in response to similar criticism in how it prioritizes fake news, Google will no longer allow such sites to use its advertising platform – no word on whether it will tinker with search algorithms. Facebook quickly followed once someone broke the ice.

Regulating news sounds nice but aren’t we ignoring the elephant in the room? Clicks/views = advertising dollars. These are for-profit companies and money reigns supreme. 

“Bullshit is highly engaging.” It sure is. And, it makes money. Facebook and Google aren’t journalistic entities and don’t have a responsibility to report the truth. Making efforts to do it are nice and make everyone feel good. I’m not convinced it’s feasible. Judgements about news are so arbitrary (note, neither site has said how it will judge “fake” from “news”) and profit incentives are too strong. 

The platforms’ monopolies over their respective niches insulate them from popular pushback. We can complain all we want, but we’re still going to use Facebook and Google. These tech giants have incredible influence over the things people see and (in terms of Facebook) the way people feel. Hopefully, CEOs will wield this power benevolently. Ultimately, we’re responsible for our own truth.