Facebook Implemented 60+ Algorithm Changes During Study on Trustworthy News
Facebook Implemented 60+ Algorithm Changes During Study on Trustworthy News
The Facts
New research has claimed that 63 temporary Facebook algorithm changes made by Meta between Nov. 2020 and Mar. 2021 affected conclusions published in a 2023 study concerning whether the social media platform encouraged untrustworthy news.
Last year's paper, published in July 2023 by Guess et al. in a funded collaboration with Meta, concluded from data taken between September to December 2020 that Meta's machine-learning algorithm "did not cause detectable changes" in polarization and showed less untrustworthy news content than a reverse chronological feed.
The Spin
Social media has played a key part in the rise of polarization, with algorithms and fake news seeking to exploit audiences who continue to spend an increasing amount of time online. Unless there is an immediate and widespread effort to teach key skills to help identify and combat this digital epidemic, social cohesion will continue to crumble in the face of division and hatred.
Social media is one of a multitude of independent factors that can be attributed to today's tide of polarization. Ranging from considerations such as a country's political freedom to the unique psychological state of any given individual, whilst social media cannot be denied as an important part of the puzzle solving the problem of an increasingly divided world involves more than placing sole blame on online platforms.
