Everyone Is On The Worst Social Media Platforms, That's What Makes Them the Best.
The Problem
"The best products don't win. The ones everyone uses win."[1] These words are Andrew's Bosworth, taken out of an internal memo circulated within the Meta company - it’s a response to a shooting death in the Chicago area that was live-streamed on Facebook. Thanks to Frances Haugen, a Meta whistleblower, who released more than 10.000 internal documents exposing horrifying things; we, the public, many of us social media users, now have access to a lot of alarming information from inside Meta. Andrew's comments get worse the more you read: "Maybe it costs a life by exposing someone to bullies. Maybe someone dies in a terrorist attack coordinated on our tools. And still, we connect people."[2] What’s even scarier is that shortly after this internal memo was sent out, Andrew wasn't fired for his total disregard shown for the human toll of Facebook’s actions, the way he would’ve in most US companies. Instead, at Meta, Andrew Bosworth was placed in charge of and became a chief spokesman for, arguably, the company's most significant and most aggressive innovation ever: the Metaverse. Yes, Andrew is Meta's CTO today.[3] And gets even more worrying from here.
Many key NGO and UN reports highlight harm the platform has caused by failing to regulate online hate speech. According to the UN, Facebook's inaction to remove hate speech contributed to the
Rohingan genocide.[4] Today over a million Rohingyan refugees have been forced out of their homes in
Myanmar and are currently displaced.[5]
The harmful role of Facebook in Europe is similar. A study made in Germany proved a link between hateful content on Facebook inciting violence against refugees and the increase in actual physical violence on migrants on German streets. [6]
In 2021, mainstream society finally realised that Facebook has turned from an innovative tool for sharing personal stories to a service of promoting dangerous ideas, especially those that are inflammatory and hateful. This mass realisation is is also thanks to Netflix’ ‘social dilemma’ documentary. But if you still wonder why Meta platform’s promote hate, leaked documents released by Frances Haugen demonstrate that harmful content receives more engagement because it triggers an emotional reaction. More engagement means more time spent on the platform. That's Meta’s platforms business model; more engagement means more growth, which means more money for Mr Zuckerberg. And growth is welcomed by any means necessary, if we take the words of CTO Andrew literally.
Or to quote mass action case against Meta in California: "hate and toxicity fuel its growth far more effectively than updates about a user's favourite type of latte."[7]
We're at a dangerous point as users. Now that Meta wants to expand, we need to finally decide what role we want to play as individuals.
The future of responsible innovation is in our hands: the users, the crowd.
Just like the conversation of our personal carbon footprint, we need to start thinking about our social media footprint. We need to ask ourselves: what role do I want to play in the social media catastrophe? Dan Pfeiffer, a famous political commentator, puts it best: "Facebook is one of the least liked, least trusted companies on the planet. They are in the middle of a massive scandal about their involvement in genocide, human trafficking, and disinformation. And their next move is to say: "What if you could live inside Facebook?"[8] The Metaverse is, undoubtedly, a dangerous innovation.
Do we want to live inside a world where hate speech is seen as a tool to make money? A world where suicidal messages are promoted - because they make money, as Haugen exposed at a hearing before the US Senate?
The Solution
One of the solutions to the social media problem lies in Meta's CTO statement: "The best products don't win. The ones everyone uses win."[9] It’s so powerful, because the best solution to fighting Meta’s harmful role in today’s world is hidden in these two simple sentences.
The truth is: The thing that keeps the current social media' business model working is our choice to keep using platforms owned by Meta.
That’s why, we - the crowd - the users - are the best solution to the social media problem.
In 2022, we need to to stop using social media platforms that make money off of hate, for the same reasons that we need to stop wearing fast fashion.
Or at least, we have to start coming up with solutions, each and everyone of us users. We have to start innovating the systems that we rely on - the systems that we use for good and productive reasons. Whether it be for staying in touch with friends, or enganging our customers as a business. That’s our responsibility, as part of the global social media community.
This is the power of the global crowd: we can all contribute ideas, no matter our background knowledge: We all can contribute solutions to making it all better. Day by day.
It is the power of the crowd to make innovation social and responsible. I know I will regret standing by, doing nothing, sharing my space to post vacation pictures with people inciting violence and hate against minorities globally. And you probably will too.
Find your voice, and share your ideas.
[1] SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOR THE COUNTY OF SAN MATEO JANE DOE, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated,
Plaintiff, v. META PLATFORMS, INC. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.), a Delaware corporation, Defendant.
[2] SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOR THE COUNTY OF SAN MATEO JANE DOE, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated,
Plaintiff, v. META PLATFORMS, INC. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.), a Delaware corporation, Defendant.
[3] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-27/facebook-fb-new-cto-andrew-bosworth-is-the-man-building-the-metavers
[4] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-rohingya-facebook-idUSKCN1GO2PN
[5] SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOR THE COUNTY OF SAN MATEO JANE DOE, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated,
[6] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-01487-w
[7] SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOR THE COUNTY OF SAN MATEO JANE DOE, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated,
[8] SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOR THE COUNTY OF SAN MATEO JANE DOE, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated,
[9] SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOR THE COUNTY OF SAN MATEO JANE DOE, individually and on
behalf of all others similarly situated,
Esther Jaromi, Doctoral Scholar in Internet Law
