The following year Facebook launched “Common Ground,” a wide-ranging effort to make the social network less polarizing and “increase empathy” among users.
Yet the company ultimately decided not to act on many of the group’s recommendations, fearing it could fuel claims the company was biased against conservative viewpoints. Other proposed changes were watered down, according to the report.
Facebook’s policy chief, Joel Kaplan, was reportedly particularly concerned with whether changes to News Feed rankings could further anger conservatives who already believed the company was biased against them. The WSJ also reports that Zuckerberg’s interest in this work was only “fleeting,” noting that more recently he has become a more vocal proponent of free speech and has pushed back on the idea that social media makes people more divided.
Facebook has long grappled with questions over how it should police speech and what type of content it should be amplifying. The company recently introduced the first members of its content oversight board, a group of outside experts that will help Facebook deal with its most controversial content decisions. The company has been criticized internally for controversial policies that allow politicians to spread unchecked misinformation.
But Zuckerberg has made it clear he doesn’t care much about “being liked,” especially when it comes to issues of free speech. The CEO said at the beginning of the year he intended to spend the next decade “communicating our principles” even when they are unpopular.
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