Mark Zuckerberg reversed Meta's censorship policies after his own post about a knee injury was demoted by algorithms designed to curb misinformation. The CEO reportedly felt the algorithm's actions suppressed his post's reach and prompted a review of Meta's content moderation practices.
Mark Zuckerberg ended Facebook censorship after his own post about MMA knee injury got demoted by algorithm: report. Mark Zuckerberg scrapped Meta ’s censorship policies after his own Facebook post in 2023 about a martial-arts related knee injury got demoted by algorithms that were designed to curb misinformation — squelching traffic and rendering it a flop, according to a report.
In November 2023, the Meta CEO posted a photo of himself in a hospital bed following surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee — an injury that he sustained while training for a Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament. “Tore my ACL sparring and just got out of surgery to replace it,” the CEO wrote in the Facebook post, managing a clinched fist with his bandaged, braced knee propped up and jutting towards the camera. “I was training for a competitive MMA fight for early next year, but now that’s delayed a bit,” the 40-year-old tech tycoon added. “Still looking forward to it after I recover. Thanks to everyone for the love and support.” To Zuckerberg’s dismay, the post drew “anemic attention”. He investigated and learned that Facebook’s software engineers had tweaked the algorithm to limit the spread of health-related content due to fears that it includes false information, according to the Wall Street Journal. A peeved Zuckerberg demanded a probe that “snowballed into a full-scale review of the company’s algorithmic demotions” to determine whether it was a case of overreach, the Journal reported.Meta spokesperson Andy Stone told the Journal that Zuckerberg’s shift towards free speech was based on his long-held beliefs and downplayed Zuckerberg’s gripe about his own post, according to the paper. Zuckerberg on Tuesday announced that Meta would end its partnerships with third party fact-checkers and institute a “Community Notes” model similar to that of Elon Musk’s social media platform X. Zuckerberg announced the changes after he was reportedly upset that his November 2023 post about his knee injury failed to go viral. Picture: zuck/Instagram The Facebook founder admitted that his tech company has engaged in “too much censorship” — alluding to the platform’s move to limit the sharing of The Post’s coverage of the Hunter Biden laptop scandal as well as pressure from the Biden administration to crack down on Covid-related misinformation. “We’re going to get back to our roots and focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies and restoring free expression on our platforms,” Zuckerberg said in a video on Tuesday. The move was met with consternation and criticism from Meta employees who complained that it would lead to rampant misinformation across Meta platforms Facebook, Instagram and Threads. The stunning reversal will include moving Meta’s content moderation team from deep-blue California to right-leaning Texas in order to insulate the group from cultural bias — a move that looked like another page out of Musk’s playbook. Zuckerberg’s company announced last week that it would add Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White, a supporter of President-elect Donald Trump, and two others to the board of directors. Meta has also sought to reorient itself politically by naming Joel Kaplan as chief global affairs officer. Kaplan, who once served as deputy chief of staff for George W. Bush, replaced Nick Clegg, who once headed the UK Liberal Democrat Party.“I think they’ve come a long way, Meta,” Trump said. When asked if he believed Zuckerberg made the changes in response to threats the incoming president has made, Trump responded: “Probably.” Meta is among several tech companies apparently working to get in Trump’s good graces before he takes office later this month. Meta and Amazon each donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund in December, and Zuckerberg had dinner with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. Amazon announced a documentary on incoming first lady Melania Trump. Its founder, Jeff Bezos, blocked the editorial board of his newspaper, The Washington Post, from endorsing Trump’s opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, just before the election. ABC News, which is owned by Disney, last month settled a libel suit filed by Trump with a $15 million payment to Trump’s presidential library foundation
MARK ZUCKERBERG FACEBOOK META CENSORSHIP ALGORITHM KNEE INJURY FREE SPEECH COMMUNITY NOTES
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