Facebook makes changes to 'Trending Topics' after bias investigation
SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook is making changes to how it selects the most important news articles on the giant social network after its internal investigation found no evidence of "systematic" but could not rule out the possibility of "isolated improper actions or unintentional bias."
"Our data analysis indicated that conservative and liberal topics are approved as trending topics at virtually identical rates. We were also unable to substantiate any of the specific allegations of politically-motivated suppression of particular subjects or sources. In fact, we confirmed that most of the subjects mentioned in media reports were included as trending topics on multiple occasions," Facebook's general counsel Colin Stretch wrote in a blog post.
But, in an effort to "minimize risks where human judgment is involved," Facebook said it would change some of its policies, such as relying on certain news outlets to assess the newsworthiness of a topic, and would add additional oversight.
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Facebook made the announcement after meeting last week with prominent conservatives including top Senate Republican John Thune of South Dakota, who chairs the Senate commerce committee. Thune sent a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, demanding to know how Facebook chooses trending topics after tech website Gizmodo reported Facebook’s news curators suppressed conservative articles and news outlets in the "Trending Topics" feature that highlights the most popular news on Facebook. Republicans' perceptions of Facebook declined significantly after the story broke, putting growing pressure on Facebook to repair the damage.
"Facebook must answer these serious allegations and hold those responsible to account if there has been political bias in the dissemination of trending news," Thune's letter read.
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At issue: the small box that appears in the upper right of a Facebook page or when a user taps the search bar in the mobile app that lists news topics that are popular on Facebook.
Facebook introduced the Trending Topics feature in 2014 to capture up-to-the-minute news events — a niche dominated by Twitter. Facebook had been criticized for highlighting the Ice Bucket viral fundraising challenge, which was largely about exchanges between friends trying to raise money for medical research, as civil unrest exploded on the streets of Ferguson, Mo. Facebook relies on automated systems to identify what's popular but a small team of editors was tapped to work around the clock guiding the selection of topics to give Facebook more of a real-time feel.
Critics seized on how much unchecked influence the editors had over what news is displayed to Facebook users in the Trending Topics feature. Facebook insisted it has "checks and balances" to ensure chicanery cannot happen.
"We appreciated the opportunity to discuss these issues with the Chairman," Stretch wrote on Monday, adding that Facebook had sent a follow-up letter to Thune to detail the findings of the investigation.
"As we explain there, suppressing political content or preventing people from seeing what matters most to them is directly contrary to our mission and our business objectives," Stretch wrote.
In a statement, Thune said: "The seriousness with which Facebook has treated these allegations and its desire to serve as an open platform for all viewpoints is evident and encouraging and I look forward to the company’s actions meeting its public rhetoric."