The large base of facebook users makes it one of the biggest and most powerful social networks in the world. However, the last few years have not been a smooth ride for the network because of the controversies revolving around its privacy policies, data polices censorship issues and more. Here’s a look into some of the most infamous Facebook controversies.
#1 The ‘napalm girl’ censorship controversy
A very recent controversy. The iconic image of a young girl in 1972 running from a napalm attack naked was censored by Facebook. The controversy was centered on the fact that Facebook used to remove the image when posted by users. A Facebook spokesperson defended the move saying it was one of the network’s way of improving on policies.
#2 WhatsApp Sharing Data with Facebook
Another controversy arose when changes in the policies stated that WhatsApp would be sharing data with Facebook. Facebook’s defense was that the move would help fight spam, track usage statistics and display relevant ads as well as improve friend suggestions. This meant Facebook would access/use your phone data…. Err Well!!!
#3 Facebook fake new stories in “trending topics”
This Facebook controversy arose with the claim that Facebook’s team choose trending stories based on their political beliefs and not on what was really popular. Facebook later said that an algorithm was playing the bigger role in picking trending topics. Further review found that Facebook does not really verify the accuracy of stories it lists as trending topics… This is lame!
#4 Naked Women is considered as inappropriate content” — but similar naked men page is allowed
Facebook deleted pages of the Warwick women’s rowing team because of nudity whereas the Warwick’s men’s rowing team, which has been selling naked calendars since 2009 was not affected.
Gender Bias!!! Well what else can we say?
#5 Facebook’s cruel algorithm for ‘Year in Review’ Posts
This follows the introduction of the ‘Year In Review’ posts which show photos uploaded throughout the year. But for some people who had a bad year, most of the images brought up painful memories. Eric Meyer, a web design consultant and writer, was one of those people. Read is story here
#6 Manipulating the emotions of its users
Facebook tweaked the algorithms of 700,000 unwitting Facebook users to cause users to see an abnormally low number of positive or negative posts. People who saw negative posts wrote more negative posts. Although this was part of a study, Facebook altered the emotions of its users.
#7 Facebook apologizes to India
After India’s telecommunication regulatory banned free Internet service, Marc Andreessen lashed out saying the authorities were wrong and that India would be better if still under the British rule. Controversies arose and were mostly directed to Mark Zuckerberg.
Most Facebook apps have been transmitting identifying information to advertising and tracking companies. This has raised concern on Facebook’s ability to protect user information.
Many more Facebook controversies exist. However, always take time to get the truth before making hasty conclusions.
Tags: facebook, facebook controversies, Social Media
Leave a Reply