Facebook Duty

I am not sure this is a duty of Facebook, but their protestations of responsibility for the tone of America’s civility – or incivility more likely – strikes me as hollow.

Facebook is about people connecting. It is also about people expressing themselves, you know, freedom of speech and all that. Well, keep moving along that logic string and it is inevitable that extremes are reached. That explains our current state of public discourse these days.

People do say the darndest things. Unsurprisingly, people will react to those statements. From that point on, the fight is on.

That is the juice that keeps people coming back for more. Facebook knows this. It is the core of its success, not freedom of speech, but a means by which people empty their spleen of ill will. Venting is the new fad.

Without Facebook, 100’s of millions of people would not have the method to vent their spleen. And there you have it. Facebook as a tool.

Do not even attempt to tell me Facebook does not know this. Uh uh, don’t go there.

I use Facebook to keep up with scores of people. I use Facebook to post my daily blog; the blog is actually on Blogspot.com but I have more readers on Facebook. So I use FB as a channel of communication.

What is on that channel is the responsibility of two parties – first, the owner of the channel (Facebook), and second, the writer of the content. Both have a responsibility for content. Facebook has the duty to monitor the content and remove inappropriate material. That duty comes with ownership of the channel of communication.

The creator of the content – author – is not off the hook. He/she has the responsibility, indeed the legal obligation, to fairly represent the facts. If opinion is the content, then it must be clearly labeled as such. The reader then has the duty of accepting it or rejecting it. Don’t like it? Or agree with it? Then don’t read it; move on to something else.

But the author and channel owner have the duty to present fairness and accuracy. If propaganda is the purpose, then the channel manager must remove the material. They own the channel. The channel is available to the public free and clear. Protection of the public resides with the channel operator.

Blaming President Biden for the nation’s failure to achieve a reasonable goal set for it, is nothing more than political gaming by Facebook. Shame on them.

Perhaps it is time to dump Facebook.

July 21, 2021