The Facebook Leaks
A close look at the dark world inside Facebook
Whistleblowers are people, typically employees, who expose information about a private, public or government organisation. We’ve seen various examples in the past decades from the Panama Papers, the Paradise Papers, and many others. But there has recently been a relatively unknown exposure that might shatter our relation with technology in the coming years. It is known as the Facebook Files.
These Files are internal Facebook documents leaked to The Wall Street Journal and the American Congress. The full extent of the content of these documents is still unknown; however, these files clearly show that the company is aware of the ill effects of its platform. Even the US congress highlighted some of these issues, yet it failed to address them until today!
The following is a synopsis of the most worrying discoveries so far:
- On Facebook, all people are equal, but some people are more equal than others. According to the company, its rules apply to everyone. But these documents show that this is not the case, and there is a secret group of elites with special privileges on the social platform. On the one hand, Mark Zuckerberg boasts that his companies place people and high-profile individuals on the same footing, yet on the other hand, the company built a system that exempts them from some or all of its rules. The program responsible for this is called Cross-Check and shields millions of VIPs from the company’s regular enforcement. Unfortunately, this protection has led to many cases of abuse since these people are free to post harassing comments or even incite violence — something which average users are forbidden to do. Of course, such restrictions are essential to ensure that people act civilly online. Still, when you lift them for people who have a big following, you are essentially igniting a time bomb which may lead to trolling, online lynching and potential physical harm.
