Facebook routinely suppressed conservative news
Even as Facebook claimed that its trending website, listing the stories that are supposedly the most popular, curators of that website have now admitted that they routinely suppressed conservative stories, just because they were conservative.
Facebook workers routinely suppressed news stories of interest to conservative readers from the social network’s influential “trending” news section, according to a former journalist who worked on the project. This individual says that workers prevented stories about the right-wing CPAC gathering, Mitt Romney, Rand Paul, and other conservative topics from appearing in the highly-influential section, even though they were organically trending among the site’s users.
Several former Facebook “news curators,” as they were known internally, also told Gizmodo that they were instructed to artificially “inject” selected stories into the trending news module, even if they weren’t popular enough to warrant inclusion—or in some cases weren’t trending at all. The former curators, all of whom worked as contractors, also said they were directed not to include news about Facebook itself in the trending module.
Facebook can do what it wants, but it is important to note the dishonesty here. They claimed their trending site objectively listed stories according to their popularity on Facebook, but when conservative news became popular, Facebook managers then stepped in make sure no one knew that. In other words, the organization lied to its members.
Note also that this is only further evidence that the last thing anyone should do is rely on one source for their information. Get it from multiple sources, with multiple perspectives, so that you increase the chances that you will get it all.
Readers!
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Even as Facebook claimed that its trending website, listing the stories that are supposedly the most popular, curators of that website have now admitted that they routinely suppressed conservative stories, just because they were conservative.
Facebook workers routinely suppressed news stories of interest to conservative readers from the social network’s influential “trending” news section, according to a former journalist who worked on the project. This individual says that workers prevented stories about the right-wing CPAC gathering, Mitt Romney, Rand Paul, and other conservative topics from appearing in the highly-influential section, even though they were organically trending among the site’s users.
Several former Facebook “news curators,” as they were known internally, also told Gizmodo that they were instructed to artificially “inject” selected stories into the trending news module, even if they weren’t popular enough to warrant inclusion—or in some cases weren’t trending at all. The former curators, all of whom worked as contractors, also said they were directed not to include news about Facebook itself in the trending module.
Facebook can do what it wants, but it is important to note the dishonesty here. They claimed their trending site objectively listed stories according to their popularity on Facebook, but when conservative news became popular, Facebook managers then stepped in make sure no one knew that. In other words, the organization lied to its members.
Note also that this is only further evidence that the last thing anyone should do is rely on one source for their information. Get it from multiple sources, with multiple perspectives, so that you increase the chances that you will get it all.
Readers!
Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
I hope my readers will support this effort. As I did in my November fund-raising drive, I am offering autographed copies of my books for large donations. Donate $250 and you can have a choice of the hardback of either Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8 or Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space. Donate $200 and you can get an autographed paperback copy of either. IMPORTANT! If you donate enough to get a book, please email me separately to tell me which book you want and the address to mail it to.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
I am shocked—shocked—to find that suppression is going on in here!
There was a story recently about Twitter doing something simiar.
Frank:
Good one!
(I’m shocked as well!)
https://youtu.be/SjbPi00k_ME
[Edward–sarcasm alert!]
Everyone appears to run Linux here, how many folks have Facebook, Twitter, etc., accounts?
(I don’t, much to the displeasure of my G-Daughter.)
You might have noticed that I have neither Facebook nor Twitter. I don’t do Facebook mainly because it would only duplicate this webpage, and put me under the thumb of someone else. Twitter I avoid because it fundamentally offends me. The idea that intelligent discussion can happen confined to short little 140 character comments is absurd, and only contributes to the dumbing down of society.
Mr. Z.
Absolutely appreciate you don’t do the FB or Twitter thing!
I was sorta wondering aloud, how folks who really know computer’s, view social-media. Personally, it’s not my thing as far as entertainment/news/usefulness to me.
And I believe–from a technological/privacy standpoint, FB in particular–they track you to death. (big opponent of targeted-adverts & ‘customized search-results.’)
FB manipulating allegedly objective “trends” is just totally dishonest & nefarious. (Not a fan of Zuckerberg or his products.)
Fully agree Twitter contributes to a general dumbing down of society.
To clarify slightly ref Windows & Linux; I can manipulate/troubleshoot Windows pretty well. It wasn’t an option for me early on to learn otherwise, & then I got locked into the M-S world through work & simple laziness… & now shear momentum.
“Get it from multiple sources”
Amen.
And always read beyond the headline because so many headlines completely distort the message of the article (I always check Drudge, but his site is notorious for that as of course are liberal news linkers).
I like Facebook for keeping in touch with family and friends. I also participate in an inter-faith FB group.
But I assume everything I post is public (and being used to compile a profile) and don’t use Facebook newslinks to form my opinions.
Wikipedia does similar things to suppress views from a more conservative perspective.
Mark Zuckerberg is a tool of the deep state – a very wealthy one; that’s not paranoia, it’s clear as day.
I don’t do either Facebook, Twitter or any other social media platform – Reddit, Instagram, any of that crap. That’s the reason I don’t comment over at Spaceflight Now anymore. They switched to a Facebook-based comment engine and you have to have a Facebook account to post comments now.
I failed to mention one of the main reasons I avoid Facebook, as well as Google: Privacy. I find their prying into my emails and personal communications to be beyond offensive and downright immoral, and I won’t permit it. It is for this reason I got rid of gmail, and do almost no web searches using Google, using startpage.com instead.
In the name of diversity, tolerance, and freedom- we can not allow these stories and viewpoints to be heard.
Signed, facebook and “the media”.