Over the past week, Facebook has come under fire for allegedly having a bias when it comes to what appears on their "Trending News." What is the problem with having a biased trending list? Facebook users all over the world view this list as a reflection of what everyone else on Facebook is talking about. But what if Facebook is setting its own agenda ahead of its users? What if Facebook sets the tone on many different aspects of the world that we see and we, the users, are being tricked into believing a false trending topic?
The New York Times reported this controversy and started their conversation of it by simply saying, "Facebook is the world's most influential source of news." This is 100 percent true. Facebook has grown exponentially over the past few years. When the company was just beginning in 2004, it had 1 million monthly users. By the end of 2013, Facebook reported that it had 1,230 million monthly users with 757 million of those users logging on daily. The Guardian put together this little chart to show just how much Facebook has grown and continues to grow.
So what is the problem with this? The problem is that Facebook is denying its power. Ever since the accusations of a biased "Trending News," Facebook has used one strategy: deny everything. It's actually a smart move for the company looking at it from a public relations perspective. If they didn't know they were being biased, they aren't to blame, right? No. Wrong. The bias is still there no matter if it is confirmed or denied.
I believe Facebook should not deny their power. They should use it. The powerful people behind Facebook want to remain as neutral as possible, but do other news companies do the same? Take a look at CNN or Fox News. CNN is considered biased toward a more liberal view while Fox News is biased towards the conservative view. Why can Facebook not be the same way? Who is holding back Facebook from being the largest news organization in the world? We are.
Facebook users are ultimately in control. If every Facebook user deleted their account after a change in the way news was presented on Facebook, the whole site would crash. However, why would we not want news shared to our Facebook feeds? If we had the news in such a personal way, we could control the news. No more CNN or Fox News to steer us in the wrong direction according to their own agenda. Facebook has truly set up a social media site that would allow its users to destroy every other news organization. The question is: will Facebook users finally look at the site as a place to share hard news (breaking news) along with the soft news of what each of us had for lunch that day?
Facebook has a lot to look forward to in the future. If its users were to get behind them and support a total change in the way Facebook is presented, the social media giant could potentially knock out all of its news competitors. The site has truly positioned itself into potentially the best or worst thing that has ever happened to mass media in America.
