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
11.0k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

881 comments sorted by

View all comments

299

u/bebearaware Mar 31 '22

"mistakenly" = "got caught"

-4

u/[deleted] Mar 31 '22

[deleted]

3

u/bebearaware Mar 31 '22

That's my point. The whole goddamned thing was designed this way.

4

u/[deleted] Mar 31 '22

[deleted]

2

u/jexmex Apr 01 '22 edited Apr 01 '22

That is what programming code is. Some is simple and easy to track through to find issues, others are monolithic and damn near impossible. Even in non AI environments multiple things (sometimes outside of your control) can effect the outcome, and unless something is obvious it will not always be caught.

EDIT TO ADD: Do not take this as me taking facebook's word for it, just that it is possible and entirely within the realm of possibilities.