Facebook's algorithm 'promoted toxic and hateful content'

Facebook spent three years making misinformation and clickbait more prominent in users' news feeds to keep them more engaged on its network, it was claimed today.

The firm's algorithm, which decides what people see on a newsfeed, was allegedly programmed to use the reaction emoji as a sign to push more provocative content.

The five emojis of 'love,' 'haha,' 'wow,' 'sad' and 'angry' were launched five years ago to give users an alternative way to react to content aside from the traditional 'like'.

But a ranking algorithm meant emoji reactions were treated as five times more valuable than 'likes', according to internal papers revealed by the Washington Post.

This idea behind this was that high numbers of reaction emojis on posts were keeping users more engaged - a crucial element to Facebook's business model.

However, the company's own researchers and scientists found that posts prompting angry reactions were far more likely to include misinformation and low-quality news.

One staffer allegedly wrote that favouring 'controversial' posts such as those making people angry could open 'the door to more spam/abuse/clickbait inadvertently'.

Another is said to have replied: 'It's possible'. In 2019, its data scientists confirmed the link between posts sparking the angry emoji and toxicity on its platform.

This means Facebook stands accused of promoting the worst parts of its site for three years - making it more prominent and seeing it reach a much bigger audience.

It would have also had a negative effect on the work of its content moderators who were trying to reduce the amount of toxic and harmful posts being seen by users.

The discussions between staff were revealed in papers given to the Securities and Exchange Commission and provided to Congress by the lawyers of Frances Haugen.