Facebook's Internal Documents Open Can Of Worms: WSJ

  • Facebook Inc FB CEO Mark Zuckerberg had publicly acknowledged that the social media platform allowed equal freedom of speech and behavior code to its three billion users. However, the Wall Street Journal found from official documents that Facebook's "cross-check" or "XCheck" reportedly spared high-profile users from some or all of its rules.
  • The documents included research reports, online employee discussions, and drafts of presentations to senior management, including Zuckerberg. Some users were "whitelisted" or exempted from enforcement actions, while others were allowed to post violating material pending Facebook employee reviews.
  • In 2019, soccer star Neymar da Silva Santos Jr. shared nudes of a woman who had accused him of rape to tens of millions of his fans before Facebook removed the content.
  • Whitelisted accounts shared claims, including that vaccines are deadly, that Hillary Clinton had covered up "pedophile rings," and that then-President Donald Trump had called refugees "animals."
  • The documents proved that Facebook often lacked the will or the ability to address the flaws present in its platform. 
  • The identification was confirmed by Facebook's researchers regarding the platform's ill effects and lack of a resolution despite the Congress hearings. 
  • Most of the content flagged by the XCheck system faced no subsequent review.
  • Facebook acknowledged the criticism of XCheck and admitted continued work to phase out the practice of whitelisting.
  • Price Action: FB shares closed lower by 0.58% at $376.51 on Monday.
  • Photo by Anthony Quintano via Wikimedia
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