Even if they hadn't done that, it would still be a laughable claim prima facie. There's something of an analogue to the observer effect: that the mere observat

Even if they hadn't done that, it would still be a laughable claim prima facie. There's something of an analogue to the observer effect: that the mere observation of a phenomenon changes the phenomenon. Facebook can be viewed as an instrument for observing the world around us. But it is one that, through being used by millions of people and personalizing/ranking/filtering/aggregating, affects change on the world. Or to be a little more precise, it structures the way that its users affect the world. Which is something of a distinction without much difference, consequentially.