Is Mark Zuckerberg the World’s Most Powerful Editor?

Earlier in the year, Facebook was accused of deliberately suppressing articles from conservative news sites. The social networking site recently fired its squad of editors who managed the trending topics section, replacing them with algorithms. However, algorithms haven't proven to be the solution of this dilemma where Facebook wants to exist in a position to control popular media and do so in an impartial way. The company faced severe backlash when this automatic news editorial process promoted a fake news story.

At present, a new controversy over Facebook's increasing hold on what trends and what gets censored has made into the headlines. The controversy started when Facebook decided to delete a post by a Norwegian writer that featured The Terror of State of war (aka napalm girl), a Pulitzer-winning photo that showed a naked 9-year-old running abroad from a napalm attack during the Vietnam state of war.

Should nosotros be agape of Zuckerberg'south hold over public opinion?

"Dear Marking Zuckerberg," reads the headline of a front-page open letter of the alphabet on Aftenposten, Kingdom of norway's largest newspaper. Criticizing the company'south decision to censor the iconic photo from the Vietnam state of war, Espen Egil Hansen, the paper'south editor-in-chief called on Zuckerberg to recognize his office every bit "world's most powerful editor."

I am upset, disappointed – well, in fact even afraid - of what you are about to do to a mainstay of our democratic gild.

Hansen wrote that the "duty" of media is to bring important data to readers, and information technology "should not be undermined by algorithms encoded in [Facebook's] role in California." "I am worried that the world'southward well-nigh important medium is limiting freedom instead of trying to extend it, and that this occasionally happens in an authoritarian style," he continued.

A tech company or a media organization

This open letter comes at a time when Facebook is already existence heavily criticized for its increasing, just ill-strategized role in disseminating news. While the company wants to act as a tech organization, its involvement in the news dissemination process has get inevitable to ignore. As more and more people depend on Facebook to read height stories, it is becoming difficult for media organizations to ignore information technology.

Even though I am editor-in-primary of Norway'due south largest newspaper, I have to realize that you are restricting my room for exercising my editorial responsibility. This is what you and your subordinates are doing in this case.

Hansen defendant Zuckerberg of "abusing" his "power" without having thought nigh it. Facebook later responded it was difficult to know the context of the picture.

The company said in a argument, "While we recognize that this photo is iconic, it'southward difficult to create a distinction between allowing a photo of a nude kid in ane instance and not others. We endeavour to find the right balance between enabling people to express themselves while maintaining a safe and respectful experience for our global community. Our solutions won't ever exist perfect, but nosotros will continue to try to better our policies and the ways in which we utilize them."

"Any photographs of people displaying fully nude genitalia or buttocks, or fully nude female chest, will be removed," the notice from Facebook had warned the publication. Withal, earlier Aftenposten could respond, Facebook deleted the article and image from the paper'south Facebook page.

First y'all create rules that don't distinguish between child pornography and famous state of war photographs. Then you practice these rules without allowing space for skilful judgement. Finally y'all fifty-fifty censor criticism against and a word about the decision – and you punish the person who dares to voice criticism.

Like many others earlier, Hansen proposed Facebook to introduce "geographically differentiated guidelines and rules." He also brash to "distinguish between editors and other Facebook-users," if Zuckerberg really wants to "make the earth more open and continued," and not just superficially and then.

With nearly 1.7 billion active users, Facebook exerts an enormous ability over public opinion. The networking site is no longer restricted to merely networking as the company is increasingly focusing on sharing and monitoring news stories. Every bit Facebook grows not just in number, but its singular authority over what we see, it's of import for the company to realize its function of responsibly sharing - and not censoring - news stories. And do so without meddling with the editorial process. "Editors cannot alive with you, Mark, as a master editor."

- Aftenposten