Informant Frances Haugen revealed to CBS News about the internal
mechanisms of the social network Facebook. According to Haugen,
Facebook is so committed to product optimization that it uses
algorithms to incite hate. The woman has worked for several
companies, including Google and Pinterest, but "Facebook was much
worse" because of the company's desire to put profit over user welfare.
There was a conflict ... between what was good for society and what
was good for Facebook. Facebook has chosen optimization for its
own interests over and over again - for example, they made more
money, Haugen said.
According to one internal Facebook document, the company is only
able to take action on 3-5% of hate cases and approximately 0.6% of
Facebook violence and incitement cases. We have evidence from a
variety of sources that hate speech, political discord and
misinformation on Facebook and the app family is affecting societies
around the world, another document says. The problem lies with the
algorithms developed in 2018 that drive content on the social
network, Haugen said. The algorithms are designed to stimulate
interaction, and the company has found that the best interaction is
the one that arouses fear and hate in users.
