The Zuck Strikes Back
November 2, 2021
Well, when Facebook strikes back it probably won’t use words. A few threshold modifications, a handful of key words (index terms), and some filter tweaking — – the target will be in for an exciting time. Try explaining why your Facebook page is replete with links to Drug X and other sporty concepts. Yeah, wow.
“Mark Zuckerberg angrily Insists Facebook Is the Real Victim Here” includes some interesting observations:
At the top of his company’s third quarter earnings call, the Facebook CEO broadly railed against the 17 news organizations working together to report on a massive trove of leaked internal documents dubbed the Facebook Papers.
Okay, victim.
What could Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp do to make life difficult for bylined journalists digging through the company’s confidential-no-more content.
My DarkCyber research team offered some ideas at lunch today. I just listened and jotted notes on a napkin. Here we go:
- Populate a journalist’s Facebook page with content related to human trafficking, child sex crime, contraband, etc.
- Inject images which are typically banned from online distribution into a journalist’s Instagram content. What no Instagram? Just use Facebook data to locate a relative or friend and put the imagery on one or more of those individuals’ Instagram. That would have some knock on consequences.
- Recycle WhatsApp messages from interesting WhatsApp groups to a journalist’s WhatsApp posts; for example, controlled substances, forbidden videos on Dark Web repositories, or some of those sites offering fraudulent Covid vaccination cards, false identification papers, or Fullz (stolen financial data).
Facebook has some fascinating data, and it can be repurposed. I assume the journalists spending time with the company’s documents are aware of what hypothetically Facebook could do if Mr. Zuckerberg gets really angry and becomes – what’s the word – how about vindictive?
How will investigators get access to these hypothetical poisoned data? Maybe one of the specialized services which index social media content?
Stephen E Arnold, November 2, 2021
A Great Idea: New Coke
November 1, 2021
I don’t think too much about companies changing their names. The reason is that brand shifts are a response to legal or financial woes. I may have to start paying more attention if I read analyses like “From Facebook to Meta: The Most Notable Company Rebrands.” Wow.
The article identifies name changes which emphasize the underlying desire to create distance between one name and a new, free floating moniker. The goal is no baggage and a lift to the beleaguered executives MBA-inspired strategic insights.
USA Today mentions Tronc. That is a name that flows trippingly on the tongue. The newspaper with color pictures points out that Andersen Consulting morphed into Accenture and then demonstrated that CPAs can make quite poor business decisions about how to report a client’s financial condition. Think Enron. Do you remember Jeffrey Skilling, who has a Harvard MBA and was a real, live Baker scholar. Impressive. He was able to explain bookkeeping to Andersen/Accenture. Good job! The must-read newspaper mentioned a cigarette outfit which became the Altria outfit. Think processed cheese, not nicotine delivery.
But the write up is about Facebook, which is now “meta.” I think “meta” is a subtle move. No one will know the difference, just like Coca Cola’s push of New Coke. Brilliant.
Stephen E Arnold, November 1, 2021
Facebook: A Fascinating Assertion
October 28, 2021
A Facebook professional named Monika Bickert, who is the “head” of global policy management is quoted as offering some insight into the Zuckbook’s approach to content. This information comes from “Facebook Exec Pushes Back on Whistleblower Claims,” published by US News & World Report, which I did not know was still in business.
Monika Bickert, Facebook’s head of global policy management, says the social media giant does not prioritize engagement and user growth over safety.
Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion.
The write up states:
Facebook has pushed back on Haugen’s claims but hasn’t pointed to any factual errors in her testimony or in a series of reports that outlined massive shortcomings at the social network, identified by its own internal research.
The write up is an interview with the “head” of global policy management, and I found her summary of her background interesting; for example, the article quotes her as saying:
We do not and we have not prioritized engagement over safety. I’ve been at this company for more than nine years. I’m a mother. I also was a criminal prosecutor and worked on child safety for more than 10 years. And I can tell you I wouldn’t be at this company if we weren’t prioritizing safety.
The implication is that a former criminal prosecutor would know what algorithms are up to 24×7. I am not sure I am 100 percent confident in this “head’s” ability to address message amplification, the interaction of user inputs and content outputs, or the unexpected signals smart software makes available to other platform components.
How do I know this?
- Google knee jerked and dumped staff who were poking around the behavior of the vaunted Snorkel method
- Twitter said in effect, “Hey, we don’t know why certain messages are augmented. Mystery, right? Let’s grab a latte and do some thinking.”
- The interesting “drift” which manifests itself when Bayesian centric systems like the venerable Autonomy neuro linguistic programming black box chugs away. Retrain or get some fascinating outputs.
Your mileage may vary, but in lawyer speak, Facebook is nothing but a bunch of great folks producing outstanding products.
Believe that?
I don’t.
Stephen E Arnold, October 28, 2021
Facebook: Making Money Is Job Two. Keeping Facebook on Top of Social Media Is Job One
October 27, 2021
Facebook cannot catch a break, but it is the company’s own fault. Information about Facebook’s nefarious actions keep surfacing, but the social network platform has not destroyed itself just yet. The Jacobin details how “Facebook Harms Its Users Because That’s Where Its Profits Are” and why the company is such a “nice” place.
Facebook has many benefits related to communication, news publishing, and economic activity, but another way to describe it is as an addictive, social media platform with greedy goals. Former Facebook employee Francis Haugen leaked internal documents about Facebook’s harmful activities. The Wall Street Journal did a news series on the leak, 60 Minutes interviewed Haugen, and she testified in front of Congress. All this attention pointed to the fact that Facebook purposely knows its social media platform is dangerous, but does not fix the issues because it would harm their bottom line.
Facebook employees have suggested solutions, but they are ignored. There is a simpler solution that is already taking affect:
“If a firm is publicly owned or simply a tightly regulated utility, it doesn’t need to work under the capitalist logic of growth and excessive profit seeking that’s fueled these issues, nor does it have to survive if its user base no longer needs or cares for it. The fact that the company is going out of fashion with the youth and is predominantly used by people over thirty might be a problem for Mark Zuckerberg, private owner of Facebook, but it’s not much of an issue for a utility that a government reluctantly nationalized because of how much its users came to depend on it. In fact, it sounds like a readymade solution for a platform that most of us agree is, at best, addicting and unhealthy.”
The rest of the article explains ways that Facebook cold be monitored, but it would lead to censorship. Another suggestion was for people to reduce the amount of exposure to technology.
Facebook created this tiny glitch. The other hitch in the social media giant’s git along is giving certain questionable actors a big megaphone. In the past, these political and intellectual influencers shared their opinions but were contained to a less digitally empowered corner of wonkiness. It is time for politicians and activists to step up and demand accountability. Facebook, however, is a company with a lot of money and that goes further in Washington DC than good intentions.
Whitney Grace, October 27, 2021
Facebook Tip: The Company Has Power
October 26, 2021
The sharks are circling the social media world’s favorite chum. In the meantime, here’s a tip.
The revelations from whistleblower Frances Haugen did not surprise us, but it is good to see them in the open. The former Facebook data scientist testified that Facebook actively puts profits above user safety. The more users scroll and click, the more the company can push tailored ads and the more money it makes. Since harmful and polarizing content gets more attention, Facebook is motivated to keep that content in circulation. A safer algorithm, attested Haugen, would have gotten in the way of those profits. (Naturally, Mark Zuckerberg denied her testimony.)
While we wait to see what, if any, changes the platform will be forced to make, BGR describes how users can wrest control of their accounts from the algorithm. Writer Chris Smith declares that “Facebook Is Terrified that You’ll Learn this News Feed Secret.” It is a process that may take some time, though there was briefly a Chrome extension to automate it. We learn:
“Louis Barclay’s ‘Unfollow Everything’ tool automated the entire process, allowing users to unfollow their friends and pages. Just like that, the tool cleared the News Feed, helping people spend less time inside the app. If you unfollow everyone, the algorithm has nothing to feed on. It won’t know what to serve you. Then, you can start from scratch and only follow important people. Your News Feed experience will improve dramatically as a result. Barclay explained in a post on Slate that unfollowing people isn’t like unfriending. You remain friends with people. You just won’t follow their posts and have them all dumped into your News Feed. Then, you’ll be able to follow only the people you want. ‘I still remember the feeling of unfollowing everything for the first time,’ he said. ‘It was near-miraculous. I had lost nothing since I could still see my favorite friends and groups by going to them directly. But I had gained a staggering amount of control. I was no longer tempted to scroll down an infinite feed of content. The time I spent on Facebook decreased dramatically. Overnight, my Facebook addiction became manageable.’”
Facebook refused to allow such a cure to spread, however. The company threatened Barclay with legal action if he did not remove the Chrome extension. It also permanently disabled his Facebook and Instagram accounts, which seems rather petty. Barclay must have hit a nerve.
Cynthia Murrell, October 26, 2021
A Sporty Allegation: One Person Is Two on the Zuckmetabook Thing?
October 25, 2021
If you are interested in an “indie hacker’s” view of Zuckbook. Ooops. Sorry. I meant Facebook, you will want to read “Facebook Will Count One Person as Two on Its Platform.” I found the write up interesting. Darko has a way with words.
Here’s the statement from the Zuckbook which caught his attention:
Starting today, if someone does not have their Facebook and Instagram accounts linked in Accounts Center, we will consider those accounts as separate people for ads planning and measurement.
Darko then clarifies this corporate Zuck speak:
Essentially, Facebook will count one person as two on its platform for advertisers, unless the users have explicitly linked their accounts in “Account Center”. [Emphasis in the original text}
The write up identifies other murkiness; for example, the machinations of the “Account Center” and how the Zuckbook presents some ad effectiveness data.
Darko points out that the Zuckbook may be doing the Darwin adaptation to the Tim Apple privacy play. Plus, Zuckbook ad rates are “skyrocketing” to use Darko’s term.
What’s the impact of the Zuckbook’s new ad finery? Darko says:
Fortunately, there are new channels that are emerging and some founders already started having success with them. These recent interviews I did on using TikTok influencers to grow a SaaS and using Reddit outreach are just some examples. Decentralized social networking is also on the way, according to people like Naval, and is just waiting for its Satoshi moment.
I think I understand. Bad news for the Zuckbook. Maybe.
Stephen E Arnold, October 25, 2021
Research? Sure. Accurate? Yeah, Sort Of
October 19, 2021
Facebook is currently under scrutiny unlike any it has seen since the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal. Ironically, much of the criticism cites research produced by the company itself. The Verge discusses “Why These Facebook Research Scandals Are Different.” Reporter Casey Newton tells us about a series of stories about Facebook published by The Wall Street Journal collectively known as The Facebook Files. We learn:
“The stories detail an opaque, separate system of government for elite users known as XCheck; provide evidence that Instagram can be harmful to a significant percentage of teenage girls; and reveal that entire political parties have changed their policies in response to changes in the News Feed algorithm. The stories also uncovered massive inequality in how Facebook moderates content in foreign countries compared to the investment it has made in the United States. The stories have galvanized public attention, and members of Congress have announced a probe. And scrutiny is growing as reporters at other outlets contribute material of their own. For instance: MIT Technology Review found that despite Facebook’s significant investment in security, by October 2019, Eastern European troll farms reached 140 million people a month with propaganda — and 75 percent of those users saw it not because they followed a page but because Facebook’s recommendation engine served it to them. ProPublica investigated Facebook Marketplace and found thousands of fake accounts participating in a wide variety of scams. The New York Times revealed that Facebook has sought to improve its reputation in part by pumping pro-Facebook stories into the News Feed, an effort known as ‘Project Amplify.’”
Yes, Facebook is doing everything it can to convince people it is a force for good despite the negative press. This includes implementing “Project Amplify” on its own platform to persuade users its reputation is actually good, despite what they may have heard elsewhere. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. We learn the company may also stop producing in-house research that reveals its own harmful nature. Not surprising, though Newton argues Facebook should do more research, not less—transparency would help build trust, he says. Somehow we doubt the company will take that advice.
A legacy of the Cambridge Analytica affair is the concept that social media algorithms, perhaps Facebook’s especially, is reshaping society. And not in a good way. We are still unclear how and to what extent each social media company works to curtail false and harmful content. Is Facebook finally facing a reckoning, and will it eventually extend to social media in general? See the article for more discussion.
Cynthia Murrell October 19, 2021
Interesting Behavior: Is It a Leitmotif for Big Tech?
October 18, 2021
A leitmotif, if I remember the required music appreciation course in 1962 is a melodic figure that accompanies a person, a situation, or a character like Brünnhilde from a special someone’s favorite composer.
My question this morning on October 18, 2021, is:
“Is there a leitmotif associated with some of the Big Tech “we are not monopolies” outfits?”
You can decide from these three examples or what Stephen Toulmin called “data.” I will provide my own “warrant”, but that’s what the Toulmin’s model says to do.
Here we go. Data:
- The Wall Street Journal asserts that William “Bill” Gates learned from some Softie colleagues suggested Mr. Gates alter his email behavior to a female employee. Correctly or incorrectly, Mr. Gates has been associated with everyone’s favorite academic donor, Jeffrey Epstein, according to the mostly-accurate New York Times.
- Facebook does not agree with a Wall Street Journal report that the company is not doing a Class A job fighting hate speech. See “Facebook Disputes Report That Its AI Can’t Detect Hate Speech or Violence Consistently.”
- The trusty Thomson Reuters reports that “Amazon May Have Lied to Congress, Five US Lawmakers Say.” The operative word is lied; that is, not tell the “truth”, which is, of course, like “is” a word with fluid connotations.
Now the warrant:
With each of the Big Tech “we’re not monopolies” a high-profile individual defends a company’s action or protests that “reality” is different from the shaped information about the individual or the company.
Let’s concede that these are generally negative “data.” What’s interesting is that generally negative and the individuals and their associated organizations are allegedly behaving in a way that troubles some people.
That’s enough Stephen Toulmin for today. Back to Wagner.
Leitmotifs allowed that special someone’s favorite composer to create musical symbols. In that eminently terse and listenable Der Ring des Nibelungen, Wagner delivers dozens of distinct leitmotiv. These are possible used to represent many things.
In our modern Big Tech settings, perhaps the leitmotif is the fruits of no consequences, fancy dancing, and psychobabble.
Warrant? What does that mean? I think it means one thing to Stephen Toulmin and another thing to Stephen E Arnold.
Stephen E Arnold, October 18, 2021
Zuck: A Puck for the Stop Facebook Team
October 18, 2021
Slap shot! Upper left corner of the net. The goalie did not react.
That’s how I interpreted “New ‘Stop Facebook’ Campaign Demands Ban on Data Harvesting and Corporate Surveillance.”
The write up explains:
A new campaign is calling for federal action to “shut down Facebook’s surveillance machine” including passing legislation to ensure strong data privacy protections.
The write up continues:
The campaign argues that the fuel driving Facebook’s business model is the trove of user data the company amasses to power algorithms that generate ad revenue and corporate profits.
I am not sure if regulation can do the trick. There’s lobbying, funding, and speaking engagements in play. Plus a job for a loser middle child can be an inducement for some politicians to adopt interesting postures. At least, the kid is not in the basement playing video games and watching Twitch Pools’ content.
Worth watching, of course. Will the campaign work? I am on the fence.
Stephen E Arnold, October 18, 2021
Facebook Targets Paginas Amarillas: Never Enough, Zuck?
October 14, 2021
Facebook is working to make one of its properties more profitable. The Next Web reports, “WhatsApp Reinvents the ‘Yellow Pages’ and Proves there Are No New Ideas.” The company will test out a new business directory feature in San Paulo, Brazil, where local users will be able to search for “businesses nearby” through the app. Writer Ivan Mehta reports:
“For years, Facebook and Instagram have been trying to connect you to businesses and make your shop through their platforms. While the WhatsApp Business app has been around, you couldn’t really search for businesses using the app, unless you’ve interacted with them previously. WhatsApp already offers payment services in Brazil. So it makes sense for it to provide discovery services for local businesses, so you can shop for goods in person, and pay through the platform. The chat app doesn’t have any ads, unlike Facebook and Instagram, so business interactions and transactions are one of the biggest ways for Facebook to earn some moolah out of it. In June, the company integrated its Shops feature in WhatsApp. So, we can expect more business-facing features in near future.”
India and Indonesia are likely next on the list for the project, according to Facebook’s Matt Idema. We are assured the company will track neither users’ locations nor the businesses they search for. Have we heard similar promises before?
Cynthia Murrell, October 14, 2021
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