A new whistleblower reveals that Facebook is doing far less in the fight against misinformation than it claims. Facebook allows illegal activities to continue in secret groups and allows high-ranking figures to violate the platform’s rules.
Facebook Whistleblower
A new whistleblower reveals startling information about Facebook. He is part of the so-called Integrity team and spoke with The Washington Post about a sham that Facebook is working up in the fight against misinformation on the platform.
According to him, Facebook creates a false image to its shareholders about the way it handles fake news and hate speech. He has already filed a complaint against Facebook with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). That is a regulator for companies in the US. According to the whistleblower, Facebook investors are being misled about “dangerous and criminal behavior on its platforms, including Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger.”
‘Storm in a glass of water’
Facebook condones illegal behavior in secret groups and in addition, high-ranking people can easily flout the rules of the platform. Top people at Facebook, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, are aware of these issues, but are not taking action. Facebook fears for its revenue if it really monitors the content on its platforms.
The whistleblower also looks back to the past, because Facebook has previously received a lot of criticism about the fake news and the radical content on the platform. When it emerged in 2016 that the US presidential election had been influenced by misinformation massively shared on Facebook, the facts were dismissed as a “storm in a teacup” by top executives at the company. One of Facebook’s top executives said, “We’re printing money in the basement. Everything will be fine.” However, the scandal also cost Facebook a lot of money.
Facebook’s response
“As a company, we have a commercial and moral interest in giving as many people as possible a positive experience on Facebook,” Facebook spokesperson Erin McPike said in a statement. She also calls it “dangerous” that The Washington Post bases the entire story on the statement from one source.
Earlier this month, another whistleblower, Frances Haugen, came forward with revelations about Facebook. The company is expected to introduce a new name this week to better market itself to investors.
– Thanks for information from Androidworld.