4 ms·
It's very telling that claims that Facebook's newsfeed algorithm under-samples conservative publications do not receive nearly as much criticism as claims that
by billy_beef 8y ago
It's very telling that claims that Facebook's newsfeed algorithm under-samples conservative publications do not receive nearly as much criticism as claims that algorithms propagate racialized bias receive.
- thegayngler 8y agoWe don't know IF Facebook is under sampling conservative publications. It depends on the goal of the algorithm. If the goal is accuracy, as a group recent conservative publications have a sorted history when it comes to truth and accuracy. Conservative news outlets also have a weird bias against science and like to push conspiracy theories with no basis behind them. Naturally if your algorithm is focused on how accurate the news is as a condition for landing in someone's news feed, conservative publications would be at a disadvantage compared to other news sources. It could also be that fringe conservatism is not popular with the majority of society.
- billy_beef 8y agoMy point is not about Facebook's algorithm at all. My point is about the reactions to claims about it vs this claim about algorithms Many commenters here seem to be frustrated by the suggestion that an algorithm could be tuned to create a bias or reproduce the bias of the data powering it. My point is that similar arguments have not largely been levied against the claim that Facebook's algorithm has bias. Why are these arguments not made in the case of the Facebook algorithm but are being made here? My conclusion is that people are extremely uneasy with the premise that there is a racial bias in modern American society.