In response to an FT Big Read By Hannah Kuchler and Matthew Garrahan on 13th May 2016, entitled “Does Facebook bend the trends that shape our news”
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5c68e88e-18e6-11e6-bb7d-ee563a5a1cc1.html#ixzz48iT70A7u
“Controversy over how it selects its stories shines a light on the platform’s enormous media power…
…US conservatives from the Republican chairman of the Senate commerce committee to the Drudge Report have been loudly questioning whether Facebook manipulates its “trending topics” to exclude rightwing news stories. The outrage was sparked when a former news curator at the social network told tech blog Gizmodo that Facebook prevented stories about Mitt Romney, Rand Paul and other conservative topics from appearing in the trending sidebar which presents a snapshot of popular stories...
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook chief executive, spoke up for the first time on Thursday when he said that it had not yet found evidence that the allegations were true. Nonetheless, he said there would be a “full investigation” and he would meet leading conservatives and others from across the political spectrum to talk about the issue...
Mr Zuckerberg’s comments were meant to kill the suspicion that Facebook is surreptitiously seeking to shape the views of its 1bn users"
This idea that Mr Zuckerberg or his organisation is 'bent' is a disgraceful suggestion. He is as straight as a dog's hind leg, and as true as the smile on Gordon Brown's face. I am too stuck in my ways to spend time letting people know what I had for my breakfast, but if I were not such a dinosaur I would look for the platform that was led by a man of great integrity, and FaceAche would certainly be my solution.
This man faithfully developed his ideas whilst working for someone else to develop something similar. He never denied what he was up to, he took the noble road, and may I say politically correct road, of being unavailable for comment.
Not only that, but he treated his former business partner with the utmost respect during the decoupling process that some scurrilous commentators have referred to as 'the great shafting'. Apart from a few tens of billions in settlements, this fine upstanding pioneer of business ethics, and future presidential hopeful, has never had to respond to criticisms of his integrity.
He has continued this fine tradition over recent months, announcing his intention to increase the share-ownership of his company whilst taking on his own shoulders the burden of voting rights - never has a man been so selfless in his desire to share rewards without imposing any responsibility for consequences. He puts the tooth fairy to shame.
The man is a saint, his organisation a priesthood of virtue. Sorry I must go now...my undisclosed breakfast awaits.