A former Facebook/Instagram employee has spoken out on 60 Minutes about the company's practices as it relates to disinformation and misinformation. Watch this segment:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/facebook-whistleblower-frances-haugen-misinformation-public-60-minutes-2021-10-03/Links to an external site.

Then answer:

• Misinformation erodes our faith in each other and civic trust. Yet Facebook disbanded its Civic Integrity unit (its responsibility was to ensure that the content being shared is true). Do you feel it is the responsibility of a social media platform to ensure that the information being shared is true? Why or why not?
• What are the consequences of misinformation on social media?
• Based on claims from the whistleblower (and her supporting documentation), Facebook/Instagram was aware that content that was polarizing (i.e. makes you angry) causes people to spend more time on the platform; therefore they developed algorithms that optimized this polarizing information. Is this ethical? Why?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

Is it the responsibility of a social media platform to ensure that the information being shared is true Why or why not The responsibility of social media platforms in ensuring the accuracy of shared i... View the full answer