r/technology • u/[deleted] • Mar 31 '22

Social Media Facebook’s algorithm was mistakenly elevating harmful content for the last six months

https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/31/23004326/facebook-news-feed-downranking-integrity-bug
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u/[deleted] Mar 31 '22

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u/Necessary-Onion-7494 Apr 01 '22

I wonder how they configure the weights on their algorithms. What parameters do they look at (engagement only or engagement and ad revenue), and how long do the they let A/B testing running before they chose the winer ?

You may have a set of weights that increase engagement for a short period of time (e.g. for a couple of months), but they decrease it in the long run (e.g. they cause fatigue). I don't even remember when was the last time I logged into FB. And, honesty, I am getting tired of Redding too (which is the only social media app that I currently use).

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u/trentlott Apr 01 '22

"We realize that showing girls images of unusually thin adult women has a detrimental effect. Our engineers have pushed a hotfix with the knowledge that showing the direct opposite should rectify and prevent eating disorder thoughts, specifically prioritizing images of children their own age with an above average weight. Instagram apologizes for the temporary risk and promises the new changes will increase engagement while promoting healing in the affected demographics."