WSJ: Mark Zuckerberg Told Staff Not To Bring Him Any More Algorithmic Edits To Suppress Extremist Content

Business Insider reports:

Facebook has reportedly long known its platform encourages extremist and polarizing content, and the company’s disinterest in making changes to solve these problems goes all the way up to CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The Wall Street Journal reports that research Facebook conducted internally in 2016 and 2018 showed the platform’s algorithm contributed to the proliferation of polarizing content.

When Zuckerberg was reportedly presented with proposed changes to the platform to stymie the spread, the Facebook CEO asked employees not to bring him any more proposed algorithm edits that were “in the name of social good.” The report on Facebook’s inaction comes at a time when the platform is in the spotlight, once again over its inability to stop of spread of harmful misinformation — this time, about the coronavirus pandemic.

Read the full article. The WSJ piece is behind a paywall.