thisargisARGH23

Their tagline is "Fair and Balanced". In reality they're nothing of the sort.

Here is a link describing how Trending topics works:

https://www.facebook.com/help/737806312958641

Where does it state Trending topics is a neutral source for unbiased news? They admit readily that an algorithm does much of the work, but that it also relies on human intervention. And the Valley, including Zuckerberg, have worn their "liberal" ideals all over their sleeves via their actions.

They sold people on a tagline, while never really being up front. Need I again quote Zuckerberg's infamous opinion on people trusting him? Let's not forget his shenanigans in India with "free" but hobbled internet.

They're as open about how things really work as Fox. Unless Fox is suddenly inviting people into their meetings where editorial directives are discussed. They put some friendly language on there, making a vague claim, then feed people bullshit.

The mental gymnastics people go through by blindly accepting such shallow rhetoric like "Fair and Balanced" or "We're neutral" without really verifying is bizarre.

Facebook has competition in the form of dozens of news aggregators; Apple, Google, Microsoft, Pocket... This is about one feature of Facebook. Not the entire enchilada.

My frustration is not with Facebook lacking competition. It's the aforementioned obtuse behavior of the populace at large, the mind-boggling mental gymnastics being employed, in thinking that these large, opaque corporate machines are focusing on the end user. The phrase "if it's a free service, you're the product, not the customer" comes to mind. Facebook sells eyeballs to others. They have little interest in being neutral.

"But with nearly two-thirds of Facebook users saying they get at least some of their news from the online platform, conservatives said any chance of bias could skew political conversations."

I really don't understand this whole situation? How is this happening?

If the argument is "We don't like how you're skewing news about our kind", how is this not seen as pure hypocrisy and laughed out of the room?

Can you imagine the uproar by Conservatives if a Liberal group demanded a meeting with Roger Ailes over their manipulation of Liberal talking points, skewing political conversations across the country for the last 30 years?

How can anyone on the Conservative side, especially pundits and politicians that rely on Fox News to spin their very special brand of stupid, stand up and say "Facebook is in the wrong?"

How many attacks were there pre-9/11 (and thus TSA)?

We went quite a good long while without it and things were fine. This is fear-mongering bullshit, used to line pockets of politicians and lobbyists, pure and simple.

I don't see how anyone can claim otherwise when the guy in charge of "Homeland Security" (a name that sounds a bit too much like things you'd read about in fascist countries like the former USSR or one of the Axis powers, but I'm getting off script) at the time starts installing x-ray scanners and... OH LOOK AT THAT he has a huge ownership stake in the company that makes them.

And really the best way to "get rid of incompetent management" would be to shut it down. Otherwise it'll just be a revolving door of incompetent managers.