Facebook is under fire again. Following a Gizmodo post with a former Facebook contractor as source, Facebook is alleged to have been suppressing conservative news on its list of trending stories. Without wasting time, CEO and Founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg called top conservatives to have a dialogue on Wednesday about the blacklisting issue.
Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook Purposely Sabotaging Conservatives?
The recent controversy puts into question the personal biases of Facebook's trending topics team who puportedly favor Republicans over conservatives by blocking the latter in the Trending Stories list of Facebook. According to analysts, with Facebook's growing community, the social media site affects public opinion including influencing political discourse.
"Facebook has enormous influence on users' perceptions of current events, including political perspectives," Washington republican, Senator John Thune said as per CNN Money.
More and more people get their news from Facebook, according to Financial Times. A study by the Knight Foundation found out that on average, a Facebook user spends 50 minutes a day on the social media site and its other apps. About 70% of its one billion users get their news from the platform.
It is a matter of concern how Facebook runs its Trending Stories list because according to another CNN Money article, the topics that appear on the sidebar are not based on algorithm alone. They are also monitored by a team that checks if the entries are not "misnomers or similar sounding news" than the actual trending stories in the world.
Because of the human factor, trusting Facebook as an information giver is risky. Nonetheless, Facebook assures its community that it knows its responsibility and acts accordingly.
"These guidelines do not permit the suppression of political perspectives. Nor do they permit the prioritization of one viewpoint over another or one news outlet over another," a Facebook statement released last week said, as per CNN Money.
Mark Zuckerberg Calls Top Conservatives To Meet in Facebook Headquarters
To clarify the controversy, Mark Zuckerberg is opening the door for dialogue to disprove the allegation and explain to top conservatives what happened. According to Yahoo! Tech, 12 leaders will join the meeting, Glenn Beck, Dana Perino and Zac Moffatt among others.
In a Facebook post, Glenn Beck writes his enthusiasm to join the dialogue with Mark Zuckerberg to talk about the controversy. He writes, "While they are a private business and I support their right to run it any way they desire without government interference, it would be wonderful if a tool like Facebook can INDEPENDENTLY CHOSE to hold up Freedom of speech and freedom of association as a corporate principle."
As reported by Market Watch, Mark Zuckerberg said, "I want to have a direct conversation about what Facebook stands for and how we can be sure our platform stays as open as possible."
The controversy is a timely issue as the U.S. election campaign is ongoing and whatever appears on Facebook will greatly affect public perception on political parties involved. Do you think that Facebook is an innocent victim of a malicious allegation in this controversy or is Mark Zuckerberg just trying to save face? Comment below your thoughts!
