Facebook ‘Trending’ List Skewed by Individual Judgment, Not Institutional Bias

Facebook ‘Trending’ List Skewed by Individual Judgment, Not Institutional Bias

5/29/2016

link

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/21/technology/facebook-trending-list-skewed-by-individual-judgment-not-institutional-bias.html

summary

This New York Times article explores the controversy surrounding Facebook's Trending Topics feature and the accusations of bias in its content selection process. It discusses how Facebook uses a team of human editors to curate the trending news stories, and how this introduces potential bias into the algorithmic system. The article highlights a specific incident where conservative news topics were allegedly suppressed by the editors. Facebook faced criticism for lack of transparency and accountability in their content curation process. The article also discusses the challenges of addressing bias in algorithms and the implications for the role of social media in shaping public opinion.

tags

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