Facebook Remains a Right-Wing Amplification Tool

Worth remembering, amidst all the Republican claims that Facebook’s continuing exile of Donald Trump from its platforms is proof that the company is biased against Republicans, that its algorithms are clearly biased in favor of them because Facebook optimizes for engagement above all else, and angry right-wing partisan misinformation is addictive content for wingnuts.

New York Times columnist Kevin Roose tracks the top-performing link posts on Facebook every day, and every day, they are dominated by one thing. Not sports. Not celebrity gossip. Not straight news. What dominates is right-wing punditry. Today’s list:

  1. Franklin Graham
  2. Ben Shapiro
  3. Ben Shapiro
  4. Dan Bongino
  5. Ben Shapiro
  6. Ben Shapiro
  7. Dan Bongino
  8. The Pioneer Woman - Ree Drummond
  9. Thin Blue Line
  10. Ben Shapiro

Yesterday’s:

  1. Franklin Graham
  2. Ben Shapiro
  3. Ben Shapiro
  4. Dan Bongino
  5. Dan Bongino
  6. NPR
  7. Ben Shapiro
  8. Ben Shapiro
  9. Ben Shapiro
  10. Ted Cruz

Facebook’s continuing ban of Trump isn’t because they’re biased against Trump supporters — it’s despite the fact that they cater their algorithms to attract Trump supporters.

★ Friday, 7 May 2021