Aude courtin
a.courtin@sudouest.fr
Since the election of Donald Trump to the presidency of the United States, Facebook is swimming in the midst of controversy. The critics are far from trivial in a country where nearly one internet user in two views the social network as a source of information.
1 Of false information extensively reported
The american media are not in the shade. “Trump won because of Facebook “, as a columnist for ” New York Magazine “. Facebook “has amplified and distorted” the views of its users in letting up on their news feed for articles “sensational and falsified,” judge specialized site Tech – crunch. An article announcing the (fake) support of pope Francis to Donald Trump has been shared in 868 000 times, reports the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard university.
The analysis of BuzzFeed is equally disconcerting. The site was compared to the number of shares and reactions on Facebook between false information and articles published by media seriously. Result : the “hoax” (hoaxes) were more successful. On the last three months of the campaign, the 20 content that is erroneous, generated 8.7 million interactions ; the top 20 articles ranked on information sites, arrive, them, that, to 7.4 million. However, more content is shared, “liked” and commented on, the greater the probability that it appears in your news feed.
of Course, of all times, the lies have flourished in election campaigns, but Facebook is now used as a resonator. “The technology of social networking has democratized misinformation. Now, it is very easy to fabricate false sources and it is very easy to spread, “said Francois-Bernard Huyghe, research director at the Iris (Institute of international and strategic relations), author of the book” The Misinformation. The weapons of the false “.
2 Who is behind these false information ?
Some of the false information is written for political purposes by supporters of candidates, others are by people with purely financial.
With content devoted to Donald Trump, entrepreneurs, opportunists have capitalized on the rider that may generate the click, and therefore income, reveals Buzzfeed. In an interview in the ” Washington Post “, a professional of the deceit, at the head of a dozen fake news sites, boasts of having pocketed us $ 10,000 (9 400 euros) per month through the service of advertising Google AdSense.
3 internal Crisis in Facebook and first step
Mark Zuckerberg has been fine to defend themselves, deeming them “crazy” these accusations, the controversy divides within the giant of the Web. “Facebook is being manipulated by people who use us to spread their crap,” said anonymously a engineer on BuzzFeed.
The figure advanced by the CEO, stating that 99 % of the content visible on Facebook were ” authentic “, let doubtful of dozens of employees who come to create a working group ” on the sly “. Objective : to determine the real influence of Facebook on the election of Donald Trump.
If he rejects the criticism, Mark Zuckerberg promises, however, efforts to filter content. Pending these adjustments, Facebook and Google have decided to type in the portfolio of the fake news sites, cutting off their advertising revenues.
4 Facebook is responsible for this ?
To Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook is not a news media but a ” platform “, which would, therefore, have no editorial responsibility.
” of Course, Facebook is not a creator of content, it does not create the information, but one can question on its responsibility to provide a hearing to sites of misinformation, ” says Stephanie Laporte, an expert in social networks. Christiane Taubira, goes further : “I think that the leaders of these networks need to be empowered. They must assume. “”Empower, it would mean censor,” explains François-Bernard Huyghe.
The equation is complex : involving a team of moderators, who would decide the relevance of a content, would be to make editorial choices. A few months ago, Facebook had already found himself mired in a controversy on this theme, accused of manipulating the hierarchy of the topics ” trend “, at the expense of the conservatives.
5 What are the implications for the French presidential election ?
At the approach of the ballot, the publications of the ” fachosphère “, particularly active in france, will be observed a magnifying glass. Their false information are regularly subjected to fact-checking (survey to check on their veracity) in the media, but this audit work is achieved not necessarily those who share.
The controversial american stop-does it border ? Maybe by April, Google and Facebook have started to correct.
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