Facebook tries to pre-empt regulation by squeezing anti-vaxxers
The social-media platform simultaneously does and does not want to be the arbiter of truth
“I JUST BELIEVE strongly that Facebook shouldn’t be the arbiter of truth of everything that people say online,” Mark Zuckerberg, the social-media boss, said last year. Yet despite Mr Zuckerberg’s hope, that is what Facebook has become. Like a power company, Facebook can illuminate certain voices, while pushing others off the grid. The most high-profile example of the social-media firm wielding its might was in January, when Facebook kicked Mr Trump off for stoking the riots at the Capitol. (Twitter also suspended him.) Facebook’s decision is currently under review by the social-media firm’s internal jury, the Oversight Board, which advises the company on thorny content issues, of which there are plenty more.
This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Likes and protein spikes”
United States February 13th 2021
- What are the prospects for bipartisanship?
- Facebook tries to pre-empt regulation by squeezing anti-vaxxers
- Why is New York so bad at running elections?
- America’s strange presidential museums
- Oregon decriminalises drugs for personal use
- Can America’s government deal with China’s after accusing it of genocide?
- Civil rights v civil liberties at the ACLU
From the February 13th 2021 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from United States
Following Trump’s pardons, the Proud Boys are back in the game
Enrique Tarrio tells The Economist he is still figuring out what is next for the group
America really could enter a golden age
Donald Trump would need to build on its strengths, and subdue his own weaknesses
To end birthright citizenship, Trump misreads the constitution
It would also create huge practical problems
Donald Trump cries “invasion” to justify an immigration crackdown
His first immigration executive orders range from benign to belligerent
The new American imperialism
Donald Trump is the first president in more than 100 years to call for new American territory—including Mars
The beginning of the end of the Trump era
The new president is more confident, and radical, than ever—and also more accepted