4 ms·
> Is it the responsibility of Google/Facebook to filter out "fake news"? Their employees certainly think it is. The reason Google/Facebook/Twitter/Reddit/etc.
by xienze 10y ago
> Is it the responsibility of Google/Facebook to filter out "fake news"?
Their employees certainly think it is.
The reason Google/Facebook/Twitter/Reddit/etc. are so obsessed with fake news at the moment is because their employees believe that their product, which was supposed to "change the world for the better!" inadvertently helped Trump be elected. I'm sure more than a few Valley employees have had nervous breakdowns over this.
Now, banning Trump from Facebook or Twitter would be a little bit too obvious, so they're doing the next best thing: making sure, under the guise of "keeping you safe from fake news", that Trump or Trump 2.0 can't leverage their offerings to help his cause.
- colordrops 10y agoThis is most likely answer I've heard on the motivations behind news filtering. It really exposes the ethical dilemma of taking a supposedly neutral carrier type service and using it to promote a political agenda, regardless of how righteous that agenda is.
- darpa_escapee 10y agoI find it more likely that their advertising partners don't want the brands and companies they represent to be associated with fake, possibly libellous and politically inflammatory content.
- xienze 10y agoYeah they _just_ figured out that this kind of stuff exists on the Internet...
- darpa_escapee 10y agoIt _just_ started reaching the mainstream and causing serious controversies.