Facebook’s trustworthiness rating a tumble down the social credit rabbit hole
Facebook, in order to combat “fake news”, is implementing a trustworthiness rating. No, it’s not for ranking articles, but rather to rank you. Well, there’s your taste of Orwell for the day.
According to the Washington Post, users will be ranked on their trustworthiness on a scale from zero to one. The advertising giant has been developing the the system in secret over the past year. Tessa Lyons, a project manager for the company, says the goal is to combat misinformation being spread online.
It’s “not uncommon for people to tell us something is false simply because they disagree with the premise of a story or they’re intentionally trying to target a particular publication,” Lyons told the WaPost. She further states that a user’s trustworthiness score isn’t meant to be an absolute indicator of a person’s credibility. Facebook did not go into further detail about how exactly they determine a person’s trustworthiness score.
Facebook has been on the warpath lately against “fake news”, the delightfully ambiguous term which is basically any news that’s not from the Big Six. The House of Zuck also continues to push this rather ludicrous Russian conspiracy theory, which is sweeping through left wing American media like a diarrhea typhoon.
The timing of the move is interesting, with American mid-term elections just months away. It also comes hot on the heels of US President Donald Trump’s condemnation of unnamed social media giants for censoring conservative users. This was in response to an apparently coordinated de-platforming of Alex “the frogs are gay” Jones, along with several well known centre-right commentators, from major social media sites.
Regardless of what side of the political spectrum you’re on, this move should be alarming. Particularly given how opaque the site has been about how it determines this score. Regardless, it sets a dangerous precedent.
The Peoples Republic of China has already been working on a similar system for a few years now. Sesame Credit ranks citizens based on whether they post positive or negative stories about the state, as well as the types of item they’re buying online. You get a higher score based on how “model” a citizen you are. While there’s current no punishment for having a low score, there is talk about limiting job opportunities or bank loans to those who don’t play along. Plus your friends’ scores impact yours. Effectively gamifying obedience and conformity to the state.
It seems Western social media has taken the first steps to implement their own social credit system. After all, who wants the black badge of untrustworthiness on their profile, in a word where peoples’ online reputations often matter as much as their IRL? Guess nobody watched that episode of the Orville.
Plus, with the Big Six, along with their crony “fact checkers” determining what is and isn’t “fake news”, it also makes things increasingly difficult for independent journalists. Making it much more likely for under-reported stories to disappear into the black hole. Especially those critical of American media conglomerates and their political backers. Several, from both the left and right, have already complained about stories getting flagged and demonetized. On top of that, it also insulates the mainstream media from accusations of fake news. Who’s determines whether reports of a dubious story on FOX, Snopes, or CNN is or isn’t bragading? FOX, Snopes and CNN.
For his part, US President Trump has promised to do something about the increasing creep of censorship on American’s digital public forums. Though what form of action that will take is yet to be announced. Free speech and privacy advocates are divided on what sort of regulations should be implemented, if any. Regardless, we’re at the point of crossing the Rubicon. A stand will have to be taken eventually.
“Fake news” is the textbook definition of a weasel word. Purposefully vague and purposefully used as a tool for straw man arguments. You should be extremely weary of anyone throwing around this term. Especially with the aim of limiting what you can see and say.
Feature image via YouTube.
