Facebook changes 'Trending Topics' in wake of controversy
Move fast and break stuff can also mean Facebook's own rules, especially in the wake of a torrent of criticism.
Facebook announced on Monday afternoon that it would no longer be using other websites and media outlets to determine what belongs in the "Trending Topics" section.
"This means that we will discontinue use of the top-10 list of news outlets, the Media 1K list, and the RSSfeed," wrote Facebook general counsel Colin Stretch in a letter to Senator John Thune.
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Thune had been the most vocal politician to come out against Facebook after some of the social network's former contractors alleged that there had been instances in which conservative media outlets were suppressed in the Trending Topics section.
Stretch also said that Facebook's own internal investigation did not find any evidence of bias.
"Our investigation has revealed no evidence of systematic political bias in the selection or prominence of stories included in the Trending Topics feature. In fact, our analysis indicated that the rates of approval of conservative and liberal topics are virtually identical in Trending Topics," Stretch wrote.
The allegations against Facebook snowballed quickly after the original report from Gizmodo. The public pressure eventually led CEO Mark Zuckerberg to host a meeting with conservative leaders in an attempt to address and alleviate their concerns.
Thune said in a statement that he had been pleased with Facebook's response, although he did say that the reliance of Trendings Topics on human input had been greater than expected.
Thune said he hoped going forward the company would be more open in explaining its methodology.
"While the committee remains open to new information on this matter, transparency – not regulation – remains the goal, so I thank the company for its efforts to acknowledge relevant facts and its recognition of a continuing need to transparently address relevant user questions," he wrote.
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Jason Abbruzzese is a Business Reporter at Mashable. He covers the media and telecom industries with a particular focus on how the Internet is changing these markets and impacting consumers. Prior to working at Mashable, Jason served as Markets Reporter and Web Producer at the Financial Times. Jason holds a B.S. in Journalism from Boston University and an M.A. in International Affairs from Australian National University.
