Hateful Ads On Facebook Are Cheaper Than Other Ads, Says Facebook Whistleblower
Appearing in front of the UK's parliamentary select committee meeting around three weeks after her testimony in front of the US Congress, she highlighted that the ads were priced depending on how likely they were to be shared or interacted by users on the platform.
Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen appeared before lawmakers in the UK where she revealed that it was cheaper to get ¡®hateful, angry, divisive¡¯ ads on the social media platform than harmless ones.
Reuters
Also Read: New Whistleblower Alleges Facebook's Poor Response To Hate Speech & Misinformation
Reported first by Business Insider, Haugen was a part of Facebook¡¯s civic integrity team before she quit the company in May.
Appearing in front of the UK's parliamentary select committee meeting around three weeks after her testimony in front of the US Congress, she highlighted that the ads were priced depending on how likely they were to be shared or interacted by users on the platform. According to her, an ad that gets more engagement is a cheaper ad.
Haugen said, ¡°We have seen that over and over again in Facebook's research it is easier to provoke people to anger than to empathy or compassion. And so we are literally subsidizing hate on these platforms."
Reiterating what she stated during the aforementioned senate hearing she said that Facebook¡¯s strategy of engagement-based ranking causes a ton of safety problems on the platform.
Also Read: Facebook Crisis: Whistleblower Shares How FB Chose Profit Over User's Mental Health
In the Congressional hearing, Haugen had stated that the pursuit for more engaging content resulted in the company¡¯s algorithm to favour harmful content.
Reuters
And in Monday¡¯s appearance before the UK's parliamentary select committee meeting, she highlighted that the same toxicity applies to ads too.
Facebook hasn¡¯t really released any comment or official statement surrounding the recent statements made by Haugen.
Also Read: Facebook Is Changing Its Name Soon To Reflect New 'Metaverse' Ambitions
Last week, The Verge reported that Facebook¡¯s Mark Zuckerberg could announce a complete rebranding of the social media company at its annual Connect conference slated for October 28, as it aims to become a ¡®metaverse¡¯ brand.
Do you think the rebranding of Facebook will be enough for the damage caused to the brand? Tell us in the comments below and for more in the world of science and technology, keep reading Indiatimes.com.
