New report shows 12 ways that Facebook favors conservatives

[turbinetree]

WRITTEN BY JOHN WHITEHOUSE

PUBLISHED 02/20/20 3:39 PM EST

A new Washington Post report goes deep on the ways that Facebook has given in to Republican demands out of fear of angering conservatives and Trumpists. Media Matters has repeatedly written about this topic, and this appeasement is one reason that Mark Zuckerberg was named 2017 Misinformer of the Year.

Here are some notable takeaways from Craig Timberg’s thorough reporting:

Facebook executive Joel Kaplan, a former official in the George W. Bush White House, personally defended keeping up a network of fake news sites, saying, “We can’t remove all of it because it will disproportionately affect conservatives,” and that prominent right-wing figures did not believe that the content they pushed was fake news.

Facebook may be making advertising decisions out of fear of angering Republicans. The company has continued to allow narrow targeting of political advertising to individuals by “their home address, gender, education level, income, marital status, job or other characteristics” even as Democrats warned that such targeting undermined transparency and eased the spread of disinformation. Google has limited targeting, and Twitter has banned political ads. The report quotes former Facebook executive Alex Stamos: “I think Facebook is looking at their political advertising policies in explicitly partisan terms, and they’re afraid of angering Republicans.”

https://www.mediamatters.org/facebook/new-report-shows-12-ways-facebook-favors-conservatives

Fuck Facebook.........................seriously , never had them and never will....................

And I know someone that has a plan.............................

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/oct/19/elizabeth-warren-facebook-break-up

[Coventina]

1. And yet, we have Facebook apologists here on DU. n/t

[Merlot]

2. Its not "fear of angering republicans." It's that they like republican policy

They are republican. Saying the "fear" republicans just gives republicans more power and facebook more cover.

[Laelth]

3. k&r for the truth (no matter how depressing the truth may be). n/t

-Laelth

[maxsolomon]

4. Whenever I get a glimpse into Bizarro-Facebook

it's 100% Bullshit. You can tell your elderly Aunt what she's posting is Propoganda, but it's yelling at a brick wall.

FB is a platform the Right has excelled at exploiting.

[turbinetree]

5. Yelling at a brick wall........good one ..................yepper spot on.................

November 3, 2020 cannot get her fast enough........................unless we have to go into the streets first.............