Farhad’s and Mike’s Week in Tech: More Debate Over Facebook’s Role in Media
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We don’t know if that tool will ever get out the door — especially now that it’s been thrust into the spotlight — but it’s fascinating that Facebook is even considering it a possibility. That’s a far cry from where Google stood with China just a few years ago.
Farhad: I spent some time thinking about your story over the holiday. (Yeah, I’m a lot of fun.) Lots of critics of Facebook connected Facebook’s apparent willingness to censor content in China with the other big Facebook story in recent weeks — the hand-wringing over whether it did enough to police fake news (most of which was pro-Trump) on the site in the run-up to the presidential election. The hot take was, “Oh look, Facebook can delete stuff when China asks, but it won’t take action when American elections are at stake.”
That seemed odd to me. If you worry about Facebook and its potential Chinese partners deciding which stories people in China can see and which they can’t, shouldn’t you also worry about their taking a greater role in deciding which news is true and false in America?
Mike: Short answer: Yes, totally. We can’t have it both ways. But please continue.
Farhad: Since the election, I’ve become more skeptical that there are many good ways for Facebook to respond to the problem of fake news (and I’m not even sure it was a big problem; the numbers on this have been dodgy, in part because Facebook hasn’t released many). I found myself agreeing with much of what Jessica Lessin, founder of the tech news site The Information, wrote in the Times’ Op-Ed section this week. Yes, Lessin has some connections to Mark Zuckerberg, but I think she raises a substantive point: Facebook already has a lot of power over the news business. Why are we clamoring for it to exercise even more power?
Mike: It’s a good point, but I do think there’s room to compromise. Clearly, false information seems like an easy thing to ax outright, which I imagine Facebook will try to do in the near future. It’ll probably stay away from the gray-area stuff.
In lighter news, CNN announced that it bought Beme, the social media start-up founded by Casey Neistat, a YouTube superstar. Beme, an app that basically let you snap raw video of yourself in the world and share it with friends, was not a breakout success, in part because it had to fight against tough competitors like Snapchat. But CNN’s hope is that Casey and his team can figure out how to use the idea of “authentic sharing” to capture new millennial audiences who have never been addicted to cable news.
I’m a millennial, and I can’t really imagine what the news consumption of the future will look like, outside of say, Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat. What say you, Mr. Gen Y?
Farhad: I think CNN is smart to hire talented media makers of the future. But I think Snap’s Spectacles — sunglasses that can record video clips — are the wave of tomorrow. I tried them out and I couldn’t stop raving about them. I even bought them for a hefty premium through eBay.
Mike: Wow. So desperate to be cool that you’re bidding for it online. Yikes.
In other news, Facebook launched a game center for its Messenger app, so you can now play Pac-Man against your friends while you chat. This seems like something you and I should do as “research” for work.
Meanwhile, one tech news site reported seeing a new fake news detection feature on Facebook, which ironically ended up being fake news. Poetic.
Oh, and Twitter said it wouldn’t hesitate to bar Donald J. Trump if he violated the company’s terms of service, while Facebook chickened out and said it “values political discourse,” apparently even if that discourse breaks some of the basic rules of decency and community behavior on the platform. Can’t say I’m shocked, considering Facebook is terrified of ticking off conservatives after its Trending Topics fiasco this year.
Farhad: That was a weird story to me. Rules are rules. They should apply to everyone, right? Except you and me, of course.
Mike: Indeed. Just don’t tell our boss how much I curse on Twitter.
Fitbit, the ailing fitness tracker, reportedly wants to buy Pebble, the ailing smartwatch company, in a calculus that apparently adds up to “Two wrongs make a right.” Also, AngelList, the site for angel investment tracking, bought Product Hunt, the site where venture capitalists love to, uh, make angel investments. I guess that equation is “Two rights make a right.” Or something like that.
Farhad: I really have nothing to add about these companies. Sorry. Did I mention I love Snapchat’s Spectacles?
Mike: Ugh. So thirsty.
But I want to talk about Signal, the secure, encrypted messaging app that is seeing a surge of activity and downloads in the wake of the presidential election.
That means a lot. Trump has made, and continues to make, many inflammatory accusations against journalists. We’re the “lowest form of life” and comments of that sort. Now, in a time where we may have to face an openly hostile administration in the course of doing our jobs, journalists are equipping themselves with the tools they need to keep themselves safe, which I think is a great thing.
Let me hear your take on this, fellow lowlife.
Farhad: Yeah, it’s great that journalists, activists and others who may be targeted by an overpowerful executive branch are looking to do more to protect their communications. This could be a long-term legacy of President Trump — he could be the guy who finally gets everyone in Washington to use secure channels, as opposed to, say, not bothering to turn on two-factor authentication for their Gmail accounts.
But for the historical record, it’s worth noting that it’s not just Trump who’s been at war with journalism. So has President Obama. The Obama administration has mounted a more aggressive fight against leakers than any recent president. Obama has also failed to disclose much information under Freedom of Information Act requests. And remember that it was under the Obama administration that the FBI sought to compel Apple to create a backdoor in iPhones.
Sure, things could get worse under Trump. But we should all have switched to Signal years ago.
OK, that’s it for now. I’m going to go make some hot cider.
Mike: As long as it’s not egg nog, I’ll take some too. Ciao!
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