On Digital Platforms’ Social Responsibility: Facebook and Fake News
By: Zeina Nasser
Tags: Digital, Misinformation, Algorithms, Fake News, Facebook

A Facebook billboard advert can be seen at Earls Court underground station in London, Britain, July 28, 2018. (REUTERS/Henry Nicholls)

“We know people want to see accurate information on Facebook — and so do we”, that’s how Facebook begins its blogpost “Working to Stop Misinformation and False News”. The platform details how it’s focusing on this goal through three key areas. If Facebook was really implementing those actions, then why is it still making headlines for not doing enough to combat fake news?

The spread of news on Facebook goes back to September 2006, ever since the launch of its news feed. The platform gradually changed from a place to connect with family and friends to more of a place in which millions of users around the world rely on as the primary source of news.

Mark Zuckerberg updated Facebook’s mission in 2017, and the platform became focused on “giving people the power to build community and bring the world together”. So, Zuckerberg was better realizing the need for free speech, which also became more dictated by the algorithm, as Facebook was feeding users’ news feeds with content it considered as the most viewed by individuals. The platform used various technological tools to filter the news appearing on users’ feeds.

If Facebook was able to develop powerful tools enabling it to dig deeper into people’s interests, hence targeting more specific ads based on users’ views, likes, and interactions, it’s probably able to develop tools enabling it to combat fake news and fake clicks on ads. In fact, Facebook has been deploying “Stormchaser” since the 2016 US elections to track false information. More recently, during the 2020 US elections, Facebook and Twitter were taking emergency steps against victory claims. Facebook was also removing false claims related to “COVID-19”. So, it combated fake news through tech tools and experts, but was it enough?

Since the digital platform’s business model is focused on revenue from targeted ads, then developing tools for fake clicks on ads would then be quite risky for a platform which makes 99% of its revenue from ads (Facebook’s revenue grew from $8 billion in 2013 to $40 billion in 2017).

Facebook’s revenue and net income from 2007 to 2019. (Statista 2020)

This also explains why Facebook is not doing enough to stop fake clicks on ads. Bloomberg mentions that “Facebook Inc. can block bots from viewing and clicking on ads but the social-media company isn’t doing enough to stop it, web analytics firm Method Media Intelligence found”. Since Facebook charges advertisers for ad views and clicks, it is ultimately benefiting from this situation. “An investigation by MMI revealed that Facebook makes it easy for bots to log in, view pages and click ads”, the article mentions.

From the Cambridge Analytica data scandal to numerous cases against Facebook regarding combating fake news, social responsibility lies in a digital platform enhancing its monitoring tools to protect users’ interests. After all, millions of users rely on Facebook and other digital platforms as safe places for free speech, and those platforms are being used to start movements leading to change. Beyond short-term monetary gains, the long term gain is much bigger and more effective.