[ExI] Facebook 2018 changes made users more divisive and angry

[BillK]

2018 change saw Facebook rewarding outrage; Zuckerberg resisted fixes
– With insights from The Wall Street Journal

16th September 2021 by Jarryd Neves

<https://www.biznews.com/undictated/2021/09/16/facebook-rewarding-outrage>

Quote:
A change Facebook made to its social media platform intended to
strengthen the bonds between users and “improve their well-being,”

However, some members of staff at the California-based company warned
against this. They warned that the changes to the popular social media
platform were, in fact, producing the opposite of the intended result.
“Company researchers discovered that publishers and political parties
were reorienting their posts toward outrage and sensationalism. That
tactic produced high levels of comments and reactions that translated
into success on Facebook.”

They concluded that the new algorithm’s heavy weighting of reshared
material in its News Feed made the angry voices louder.
“Misinformation, toxicity, and violent content are inordinately
prevalent among reshares,” researchers noted in internal memos.
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BillK