{"id":63100,"date":"2020-10-15T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-15T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/foxtail\/2020\/10\/15\/dearmarkandjack\/"},"modified":"2021-02-03T02:09:57","modified_gmt":"2021-02-03T02:09:57","slug":"dearmarkandjack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/firefox\/dearmarkandjack\/","title":{"rendered":"Twitter and Facebook: unfck the algorithms"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Our socially distant reality is pretty damn weird, let\u2019s be honest. Social networks shouldn\u2019t make it any weirder \u2014 or more dangerous.<\/p>\n<p>And yet they are making it more dangerous while promising to \u201cbring the world closer together.\u201d Extremists are finding each other in Facebook groups to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2020\/aug\/19\/facebook-qanon-us-militia-groups-restrictions\">plan insurrections<\/a> and other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/09\/18\/technology\/facebook-tried-to-limit-qanon-it-failed.html\">not-very-good-for-civic life<\/a> things. Facebook has to do better.<\/p>\n<p>Over on Twitter, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/2020\/05\/21\/1002105\/covid-bot-twitter-accounts-push-to-reopen-america\/\">bots<\/a> and organized mobs have all-too-easily hijacked trends to spread dangerous misinformation and hate speech. Like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/brucelee\/2020\/08\/31\/twitter-removes-claim-about-cdc-and-covid-19-coronavirus-deaths-that-trump-retweeted\/#405c848f3178\">this<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vice.com\/en\/article\/nepjnk\/twitter-is-sorry-kill-all-jews-was-a-trending-topic\">this<\/a>. Twitter too has to do better.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Twitter?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Twitter<\/a> is a super-spreader of lies and hate.<\/p>\n<p>Tweet <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jack?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@jack<\/a> and tell him to pause Trending Topics before the election.<\/p>\n<p>Stop disinformation.<\/p>\n<p>Save democracy. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/UntrendOctober?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#UntrendOctober<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/TZyjI8TC4c\">https:\/\/t.co\/TZyjI8TC4c<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Sacha Baron Cohen (@SachaBaronCohen) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SachaBaronCohen\/status\/1300181854889402371?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 30, 2020<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br>Safe to say if you\u2019re reading this that people who spread misinformation and hate aren\u2019t your favorites. That\u2019s why we need to unfck Twitter and Facebook now, before they warp civic life any further.<\/p>\n<p>Can we do it? We have to. Social networks have shown they will respond if we apply enough heat. They have taken action to deal with the problems they\u2019ve helped to cause, but too often too little, too late.<\/p>\n<p>So let\u2019s unfck some of the algorithms that use data to divide us and drive hate. We can start with the actions below, at least until the election is complete and certified. Here is what you can do:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-7929 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/278\/files\/2020\/10\/Twitter-featured.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"142\" height=\"115\"> For Twitter, head over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mozilla.org\/en-US\/firefox\/unfck\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">here<\/span><\/a> to tweet @CEO Jack Dorsey that trending topics need to stop for now. Just click and share. With any luck, they\u2019ll be so many of us that we will trend ourselves. And the Mozilla Foundation is boosting the campaign with a full page ad in the 10\/20 edition of the Washington Post. <a href=\"https:\/\/assets.mofoprod.net\/network\/images\/MoFo_WaPo-Open-Letter-092020-v72x.original.png\">Check it out.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-7949 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/278\/files\/2020\/10\/f_logo_RGB-Blue_1024-600x600.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"99\" height=\"99\"><\/strong><strong>For Facebook, go <a href=\"https:\/\/foundation.mozilla.org\/en\/campaigns\/facebook-stop-group-recommendations\/\">here<\/a> to tell Mark Zuckberg to stop recommending dangerous groups. You\u2019d think he\u2019d get the picture after so many groups have caused so many problems. But alas, some people just need to be told something over and over before they\u2019ll act. If you want to go a step further with Facebook you can install <a href=\"https:\/\/addons.mozilla.org\/en-US\/firefox\/addon\/facebook-container\/\">Facebook Container<\/a> which helps prevent them from tracking you around the web.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2><b>Want to know more?<\/b><\/h2>\n<h3><b>Trending Topics<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>Twitter helped to create an additional meaning for <i>viral<\/i>. Its new meaning meant something that is so popular it was contagious across the service. Everybody felt that they had to share it.<\/p>\n<p>Twitter captured the zeitgeist through Trending Topics, but this feature has caught the attention of misinformation experts as one mechanism by which misinformation can go viral before the fact checkers even notice.<\/p>\n<p>Trending topics are \u201ctailored for you based on who you follow, your interests, and your location,\u201d according to<a href=\"https:\/\/help.twitter.com\/en\/using-twitter\/twitter-trending-faqs\"> Twitter\u2019s FAQ<\/a>.&nbsp; But <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/tech\/tech-news\/critics-want-twitter-halt-its-trending-lists-instead-twitter-will-n1238996\">hashtags<\/a> associated with conspiracy theory have made the lists. So has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/tech\/tech-news\/exclusive-twitter-pulls-down-bot-network-pushing-pro-saudi-talking-n921871\">state propaganda<\/a> and Covid-19 conspiracies.<\/p>\n<p>The problem is so rampant, even <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SachaBaronCohen\/status\/1300181854889402371\">Sacha Baron Cohen<\/a> felt the need to weigh in: &#8220;Twitter is a super-spreader of lies and hate,&#8221; the comedian and filmmaker tweeted.<\/p>\n<p>Twitter does appear to be trying. It has responded with an <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.twitter.com\/en_us\/topics\/product\/2020\/adding-more-context-to-trends.html\">announcement<\/a> that it will be adding context around trends \u2013 context that relies on a combination of algorithmic input and its curation team to decide which tweets are reflective of the trend. Additional descriptions written by its curation team promise to be clearly sourced, but that is unlikely to limit the spread of misinformation from trending topics.<\/p>\n<p>What&#8217;s trending on Twitter shouldn\u2019t be able to distort the U.S. political debate. Twitter must take action.<\/p>\n<h3><b>Facebook group recommendations<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>Facebook is advertising the value of its groups, which allow people to join small intimate conversations organized around a topic or cause. What sounded good in theory is now becoming a breeding ground for conspiracies and even violence.<\/p>\n<p>Automated recommendation systems have suggested groups <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/08\/19\/technology\/facebook-qanon-groups-takedown.html\">supporting QAnon and other conspiracies<\/a>. They are also where several people planning violence have met and coordinated, including the group now under investigation for<a href=\"https:\/\/www.freep.com\/story\/news\/local\/michigan\/2020\/10\/10\/social-media-thwarted-plot-kidnap-whitmer\/5943256002\/\"> planning to kidnap the Michigan governor<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Facebook has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2020\/aug\/19\/facebook-qanon-us-militia-groups-restrictions\">stopped recommending QAnon groups<\/a>, but this problem is well known to them. It has known about this problem for years while extremism grew on the platform. In fact, the company began heavily promoting Groups for the last several years even though in 2016, when researchers presented evidence to the company showing that <b>\u201c<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/facebook-knows-it-encourages-division-top-executives-nixed-solutions-11590507499\"><b>64% of all extremist group joins are due to [Facebook\u2019s] recommendation tools\u2026\u201d<\/b><\/a> in other words \u201c[Facebook\u2019s] recommendation systems grow the problem<b>.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Facebook groups can\u2019t be a breeding ground for extremism, especially this election season when the temperature is already at boiling. This is why Mozilla is demanding that Facebook act now.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our socially distant reality is pretty damn weird, let\u2019s be honest. Social networks shouldn\u2019t make it any weirder \u2014 or more dangerous. And yet they are making it more dangerous while promising to \u201cbring the world closer together.\u201d Extremists are finding each other in Facebook groups to plan insurrections and other not-very-good-for-civic life things. Facebook [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1439,"featured_media":57447,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[464058,30],"tags":[451298],"coauthors":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Twitter and Facebook: unfck the algorithms<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With Firefox you can unfck algorithms that threaten the 2020 election. 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