Facebook pushes politicians to extremism, says whistleblower

EUROPEAN political parties told Facebook they were being forced to take more extreme positions because of an algorithm tweak by the social network, a whistleblower has claimed.

Frances Haugen, 37, a former Facebook employee, said the social media giant knew it was “tearing our societies apart” by fuelling online hate.

Before she resigned in May, Ms Haugen copied thousands of Facebook documents which she says proved that the company knew it was amplifying misinformation and political unrest.

She revealed her identity publicly for the first time on CBS’S 60 Minutes programme on Sunday night, in which she accused the company of putting profit over users’ safety.

She singled out the network’s 2018 change to the algorithm on its news feed, which prioritised content that increased user engagement, arguing it made divisive content more prominent.

As a result, she said European parties contacted Facebook to complain that: “You are forcing us to take positions that we don’t like, that we know are bad for society. We know if we don’t take those positions, we won’t win in the marketplace of social media.”

She said Facebook’s own research had indicated that if they made the algorithm safer “people will spend less time on the site, they’ll click on less ads, they’ll make less money”.

Sir Nick Clegg, Facebook’s head of global affairs and Britain’s former deputy prime minister, said the platform does not promote polarisation.

“Our advertisers don’t want their content next to hateful extreme or unpleasant content,” the former Liberal Democrat leader told CNN.

In a statement to 60 Minutes, Facebook said: “We continue to make significant improvements to tackle the spread of misinformation and harmful content. To suggest we encourage bad content and do nothing is just not true.”

Ms Haugen first shared documents with US lawmakers and The Wall Street Journal last month that detailed how Facebook knew its products, including Instagram, harmed young girls’ mental health.

After Ms Hague’s disclosures, senators of both parties compared Facebook’s tactics to the tobacco industry’s cover-up of smoking’s health effects.

“Instagram is that first childhood cigarette meant to get teens hooked early. Facebook is just like Big Tobacco, pushing a product they know is harmful to the health of young people,” said Democratic senator Edward Markey.

Sir Nick told CNN the comparison was “profoundly false”.

‘You are forcing us to take positions that we don’t like, that we know are bad for society’