Om Malik

March 17, 2021

Facebook is behavior modification system

Maria Ressa, formerly of CNN, is a well-known media entrepreneur from the Philippines. Her news website Rappler is a major news source in the Philippines. It'sIt's investigative journalism, which is critical of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, has earned her his ire, and they are gunning for her head. In a short but solid interview, she outlined her challenges, how she is grappling with them and what comes next. However, it is her comments about social media in general, and Facebook in specific, that stood out. 

"Facebook is a behavioral modification system on steroids. It [breeds] polarization. It makes the facts debatable. How are you going to have elections when people are being manipulated? The whole premise of democracy is that we'll get the facts we need to make up our minds. But instead we're being manipulated, and we don't even know it," she told the interviewer. 

Please, when you get some time, give this interview a read.