Is Facebook manipulating its users?

Facebook is embroiled in a major scandal related to its "breaking news" feature.

According to a recent article by Michael Nunez published on Gizmodo, the headlines you see when scrolling through your News Feed or searching for content on mobile apps are the work of human beings and their biases and prejudices.

“They call it ‘breaking news’ and they advertise it as if it’s orchestrated by an algorithm. That’s not true,” Nunez told The Huffington Post in an interview.

Trending Stories on Facebook

Nunez's latest story alleges that some Facebook employees tasked with building the Trending menu avoided including controversial news stories, no matter how popular they were on the social network.

"In other words, Facebook's news section functions like a traditional newsroom, reflecting employee bias and organizational dictates," Nunez describes in the article, but adds that there is no evidence that superiors pressured employees to decide which news to avoid.

Facebook denied the allegations. A spokesperson for the social media platform said that the review team has strict guidelines to ensure consistency and neutrality. “These guidelines do not tolerate the suppression of political views or favoring one viewpoint or publication over another.”

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg denies the allegations.

Why did this become a scandal?

Facebook has transformed into a media giant with the ability to shape thinking not only through computer algorithms but also through a group of people who decide how to distribute news without adhering to any standards or rules—two factors that any reputable news organization must follow.

Because Facebook is so powerful and has such a huge user base (1.65 billion), even a small change can disrupt traffic to news websites.

Facebook is being accused of a lack of transparency as an information hub. Some have jokingly suggested that perhaps the company should rename its breaking news section to "editor's Choice" so people understand what they're reading.

According to Cictnew