2 ms·
In the end, I think the main issue here is that algorithms are designed to show you what you're likely to engage with. FB actually does have pretty good tools t
by fatnoah 6y ago
In the end, I think the main issue here is that algorithms are designed to show you what you're likely to engage with. FB actually does have pretty good tools to limit what you see in your feed. Making use of the "Hide this Post" (or whatever it's called) on my own FB feed has all but eliminated all political ads or any of the stuff in my feed that I'm not interested, i.e. anything that's not about my friends' lives. That functionality needs to be MUCH more prominent, IMHO. The ease of sharing and retweeting also means that little or no effort is required to propagate whatever you come across.
Even without the algorithms, people will essentially do that work themselves. There's a reason Fox News, Breitbart, and these types of "news" sources are popular. People are comfortable when their beliefs are reinforced and not challenged. I don't think this is a conscious action, but it happens nevertheless.
My anecdote here is my father-in-law. He's glued to Fox News, right wing podcasters, and the like. He's as up to date on every bit of news propagated by those sites as anyone I know that's regularly on Facebook.