Mark Zuckerberg denies Facebook censorship

This week, the network got information about the "official" instructions that Facebook's moderators are guided by when selecting content in Trending Topics - this was the first time the Gizmodo edition reported , which was contacted by several former representatives of the social network. Up to this point, it was assumed that all this type of content is selected using algorithms based on the popularity of certain topics among users. But the Gizmodo publication, citing its own sources, argued that this was not the case, and Facebook moderators constantly missed the conservative news, which was often related to Republicans.

Subsequently, this information was also confirmed by the publication of The Guardian, likewise without disclosing its own sources, but by publishing instructions for selecting news for Trending Topics. Key features of the moderated content were as follows:
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• The team of editors had a list of current topics that they could add to Trending Topics, as well as a list of topics that should be deleted because of the irrelevance of the information provided;
• The team of editors could independently add a particularly relevant topic at the moment, as well as add topics that are now in demand, as in the case of #BlackLivesMatter;
• To determine the relevance of the information, Facebook edited only 10 news websites: BBC News, CNN, Fox News, The Guardian, NBC News, The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and Yahoo News;
• The guide also indicated by what criteria to choose which of the Facebook users associated with each of these topics should be noted.

Facebook representatives denied this information, arguing that their team of editors was not instructed to add various content directly to Trending Topics based on these instructions.

“We’re not manually adding some of the themes to Trending Topics and instructing our editors to do this,” said Tom Stokes, Facebook vice president for search, to The Guardian.

Subsequently, Facebook's vice president of global operations, Justin Osofsky, confirmed that the company has a specific set of rules for editors, which lists more than 1,000 trusted sources. In addition, it contains general rules for checking content, which are generally similar to those found in large publications.

The topic of censorship in Trending Topics can have a significant impact on the development of Facebook. Therefore, she did not go unnoticed by Mark Zuckerberg, who denied this information:

“In order to work with our community, we strive to create a platform for all topics. The Trending Topics list is designed to showcase the hottest and hottest topics on Facebook. We have strict selection principles that are not based in any way on the priority of any political party.

In the next few weeks, I will invite leading policy conservatives to discuss this topic and listen to their point of view. I want to openly convey what Facebook stands for so that our platform remains as open as possible.

The main reason I pay so much attention to this is that these accusations contradict everything I want to see on Facebook. Each tool in Facebook is designed to give users more opportunity to express their opinions. While I lead Facebook, it will always be our mission. ”

In addition to an open appeal, Mark Zuckerberg will have to answer before the US Senate Committee on the possible censorship of topics in Trending Topics.