Okay Facebook, tell us who you think is trustworthy

By Yair Oded

Updated May 16, 2020 at 10:08 AM

Reading time: 2 minutes

310

In an effort to combat cyclones of misinformation and fake news raging across its platform, Facebook has recently taken to assigning credibility scores to their users. According to Tessa Lyons, Facebook’s product manager in charge of targeting and eliminating misinformation, the new campaign consists of algorithms programmed to assess how likely a person is to spread fake news and how credible their flagging of misinformation is. In short, their new mission is to “identify malicious users.” But Facebook’s crusade against evildoers on the web raises a bunch of other concerns regarding how the data is collected, how precisely it will be utilised, and—most importantly—the legitimacy of their authority to determine what constitutes “trustworthy” activity.

On their part, Facebook insists that the new scoring method is a highly credible and efficient way to thwart the spreading of fake news on their platform. It replaced a 2015 attempt to tackle misinformation, which allowed users to flag content they believe is suspicious or downright false. Alas, according to Lyons, users often reported content simply because they disagreed with the author’s argument or political affiliation, or when they were personally offended. In order to surpass that problem, Facebook fashioned the sophisticated, algorithm-based method of scoring users in order to screen content reporting and alleviate the pressure from fact-checkers. Lyons insists that the scoring system doesn’t produce an overall score for their users’ reputation and trustworthiness, but rather relies on thousands of factors to identify particular behavioural patterns that are often associated with either spreading misinformation or wrongly flagging content as fake.

Yet, very little is known about what factors and behavioural clues Facebook is considering while assessing a user’s trustworthiness, or what measurements it uses in order to construct a person’s credibility profile. What if, for instance, one once opened a fake account to stalk their ex (an arguably desperate and creepy act that many of us are culpable of, but not necessarily ‘malicious’)? Is their score going to take a nosedive? If so, are a broken heart or lover-withdrawal symptoms any indication of a person’s likelihood to spread fake news or flag content as such for no reason other than they don’t agree with it? It has also been reported that while assessing a user’s trustworthiness, Twitter often looks at the behaviour patterns of other people in their network. In the unimaginable event that Facebook utilises similar tactics, can the actions of one’s boss or classmate or a total rando on their friends’ list affect their score?

One can contemplate countless other potential issues with Facebook’s scoring method. For instance, what assurance do we have that they are not in fact in the process of constructing an overall, comprehensive ‘trustworthiness’ profile of their users? Simply because they told us so? (lol!) And what will become of this data should it end up in the wrong hands or be sold to a third party (such as governments or greedy conglomerates that are ravenous for such delicious information)? In what manner will it be utilised?

Unfortunately, our experience with Facebook and its tech siblings shows us that we simply don’t know what occurs behind closed doors and that we have no real way of monitoring or making a well-informed criticism of its actions and objectives until it’s too late.

But the problem, in this case, runs far deeper than that. Perhaps it all boils down to the agency we entrust to such platforms to determine what is ‘trustworthy’. Perhaps we are too quick to believe that companies that are ultimately motivated by their own interests (which often contrast those of the public) are legitimate judges when it comes to the assessment of credibility and morality… and character.

Keep On Reading

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Trump launches his 2028 presidential campaign, ignoring constitutional limitations

By Charlie Sawyer

Who is Zohran Mamdani, the staunch socialist primed to become New York’s first Muslim mayor?

By Charlie Sawyer

New study confirms Bacterial Vaginosis can be sexually transmitted, backing what women have long suspected

By Eliza Frost

Netflix’s new Trainwreck documentary exposes the rise and scandalous fall of American Apparel

By Charlie Sawyer

President Trump and JD Vance angry over the DNC setting up a taco truck outside RNC headquarters

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Conspiracy theorists are convinced Blue Origin’s all-female space flight was fake

By Eliza Frost

Why do people want a nose like the Grinch? The Whoville TikTok trend explained

By Charlie Sawyer

Harry Potter star defends Tom Felton over his controversial comments on JK Rowling’s transphobia

By Charlie Sawyer

Will Greta Thunberg reach Gaza safely amid Israel’s aid blockade?

By Charlie Sawyer

Trump administration announces plan to offer US immigrants $1,000 to self-deport

By Eliza Frost

We finally know why Conrad and Belly broke up in The Summer I Turned Pretty season 2

By Eliza Frost

Why isn’t Sylvanian Drama posting on TikTok? Here’s the legal tea

By Eliza Frost

Taylor Swift announces new album on Travis Kelce’s podcast. Everything we know about TS12 so far

By Charlie Sawyer

The #MeToo movement is at risk. How the Harvey Weinstein retrial risks doing unimaginable damage 

By Eliza Frost

Bad Bunny is not touring the US due to fear of ICE raids at concerts

By Alma Fabiani

The disturbing TikTok trend sexualising fake Down syndrome faces using AI filters

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Could the next pope be Black? Peter Turkson’s papal bid could rewrite over 1,500 years of Vatican history

By Charlie Sawyer

Odd Muse founder Aimee Smale fights back against fast fashion controversy on TikTok

By Matilda Ferraris

From Ballerina Cappuccina to Trallalero Trallalà, we unpack the darker undertones of Italian brainrot

By Charlie Sawyer

22-year-old groom arrested after police find 9-year-old bride at staged Disneyland wedding