It’s hard to imagine that what started as a means of connecting the world, expanded into not only one of the largest social media sites to have ever existed, but has played a role in the most impactful first amendment experiment in history. Getting its start at Harvard, Facebook went from having the support of a handful of college kids to being the first global connecter the world had ever seen; however, when your goal is to reach as many people as possible, it’s easy to be focused on what could go right instead of what could go wrong.
As Facebook continued to gain the support of more people, Zuckerberg and his team continued to make updates to the software. These updates included features like "newsfeed", your own personalized newspaper featuring the stories you would be most interested in, and the like button, which allowed Facebook so see what you did and did not find “enjoyable”. With these updates came massive revamping of Facebook’s artificial intelligence systems. Through endless mathematical equations, Facebook was able to develop algorithms that would take your “likes” and essentially continue to spit out similar content on your newsfeed. It was designed to keep you scrolling which meant more ads being shown, which meant more money was being made.
As Facebook was gaining a larger audience and higher engagement than ever before, they would soon become a beacon of light to individuals who finally felt like they could be heard. Across the world, tensions were rising in Egypt between civilians and the violent regime. Using their resources, a handful of people created a Facebook page to expose the wrongdoings of the regime and the mistreatment of the Egyptian people. The page, for lack of a better word, blew up. A never-ending stream of “likes” rolled in and anti-regime posts filled the newsfeeds of hundreds of thousands of people. Events were developed and shared and before you could even comprehend what was happening, thousands upon thousands of individuals stormed the streets of Egypt, demanding the downfall of the regime. Within just 18 days, their wish was granted, and the regime was no more.
Internally, Facebook was more than excited to have been the primary tool used to organize such events and allow for such use of speech, but it was only a matter of time before the high began to rapidly fall. Back in Egypt, tensions skyrocketed, riots were rampant, and the polarization between civilians and those who wanted an Islamic state was at an all-time high. During this time, it was found that some of the largest pages related to the situation, were telling outright lies. Simultaneously, it was discovered that the more passion or anger you showed in your posts or responses, the more extreme material you would receive on your newsfeed. The tool that had brought so much justice, was now ripping people apart. When Facebook received concerns about the algorithms and their helping hand in the polarization of content, it seemed they would rather discuss themselves as the solution than take credit for their part in the problem.
So my question is this, how do we bring people together when the two groups arguing are seeing two different versions of the truth? How do we pull ourselves out of this imaginary world, when we don’t know we’re living in it? In the United States, we are more polarized than ever before, and yet when asked about their role in it, Facebook claims that it’s the solution, not the problem. So, step away and allow yourself to see not only the content you like and dislike, but allow yourself to see the problem in its truth. Permit yourself to witness the reality of the situation without being rewarded for lashing out. Give yourself the space to see the news as it is and not the altered newsfeed Facebook uses to keep you attached at the hip.
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