Hello friends Summarized! Are you a loyal Facebook user? This social media has become a part of our daily life. However, did you know that Facebook is often involved in various controversies that stir up cyberspace? In this article, we will review several Facebook controversies that have occurred from time to time, from data scandals, content censorship, to the war between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. Come on, see the review!
The Cambridge Analytica Data Scandal
One of Facebook’s biggest and most impactful controversies is the Cambridge Analytica data scandal. This scandal occurred in 2018, when it was revealed that a political consulting firm called Cambridge Analytica had collected personal data from around 87 million Facebook users without their permission. The data was then used to influence the outcome of the 2016 United States presidential election and the UK’s Brexit referendum.
This scandal caused a lot of criticism and protests from the public, government, and human rights activists. Mark Zuckerberg as the CEO of Facebook must apologize publicly and face scrutiny from the US Congress and the European Parliament. Facebook was also fined $5 billion by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for violating privacy agreements with its users.
Content Censorship
Another controversy that often befalls Facebook is content censorship. Many users feel that Facebook is too arbitrary in determining what can and cannot be posted on its platform. Some examples of content censorship cases that have occurred include:
- In 2016, Facebook removed a photo of a Vietnamese girl running naked after being attacked with napalm during the Vietnam War. The photo was deemed to violate Facebook’s community standards regarding nudity. However, after receiving protests from many parties, including the Prime Minister of Norway, Facebook returned the photo and acknowledged that the photo had important historical and news value.
- In 2017, Facebook removed a video of a Palestinian activist criticizing Israel for shooting Palestinian children. The video was deemed to violate Facebook’s community standards on hate speech. However, after coming under pressure from human rights groups, Facebook returned the video and apologized for the mistake.
- In 2020, Facebook decided to ban all content related to QAnon, a far-right conspiracy theory that supports Donald Trump. This decision was taken after Facebook realized that QAnon had been spreading disinformation and violence on its platform. However, many QAnon followers feel that Facebook is engaging in political censorship and infringing on their free speech.
The war between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk
The Facebook controversy that is quite unique is the war between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. The two technology luminaries have different views on artificial intelligence (AI). Zuckerberg believes that AI will bring many benefits to humans and should be supported. Musk is concerned that AI will become a threat to humans and should be strictly regulated.
The war between the two started back in 2017, when Musk criticized Zuckerberg for being clueless about AI. Zuckerberg shot back at Musk for scaring people with terrible AI scenarios. Since then, the two have often satirized and argued with each other on social media and mass media.
One example of the war between the two was when Facebook launched its internet satellite in 2019. The satellite used Musk’s SpaceX rocket to launch it into orbit. However, the rocket explodes during launch and destroys Facebook’s satellite. Zuckerberg also expressed his disappointment on Facebook and called the incident a “big loss”. Musk responded by writing on Twitter that he had tried to contact Zuckerberg without success. He also added a closed eye emoji, which could be interpreted as an insinuation that Zuckerberg is blind to the dangers of AI.
Conclusion
Those were some of the Facebook controversies that have occurred from the past until now. These controversies show that Facebook is not a perfect social media and is not without problems. However, Facebook also remains a popular and influential platform in cyberspace. What do you think about the Facebook controversy? Are you still loyal to using Facebook or have you switched to other social media? Write your comments below, OK!
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I like to Staying up-to-date with the latest tech advancements, playing video games, discovering new games, and writing about them.