Filter Bubbles |Facebook Research Report

Facebook study has recently revealed that  personal choice matters more than algorithms in determining what the users can see in the News Feed. But there is no solid proof to prove this belief the critics say.

Facebook has been for a long time for the stand on the “Filter Bubble”. Facebook’s new algorithmically filtered news feed suggests that it can shape the perception of the world through prioritizing contents through these filter bubbles. But in a study recently it was proved that it is not possible to determine what the users want to view all the time. Just in case there is a Filter Bubble, the company has claimed that it exists only because of the user’s choice to view certain things and not because of Facebook’s Algorithmic filters.

Filter Bubble Facts |What does the study prove?

⇒ There has been a lot of debate regarding the conclusions that this Filter Bubble study draws. But yet there have not been any convincing facts as to what the role of the algorithm is.
⇒ The debate among social scientists in the field, have established that individual choices matter more than the algorithm. But they also argue that there aren’t any evidences in the study.
“Individual users choosing news they agree with and Facebook’s algorithm providing what those individuals already agree with is not either-or but additive. That people seek that which they agree with is a pretty well-established social-psychological trend… what’s important is the finding that [the newsfeed] algorithm exacerbates and furthers this filter bubble.”
⇒  The biggest issue is that the Facebook Filter Bubble study pretends that individuals choosing to limit their exposure to different topics is a completely separate thing from the Facebook algorithm doing so.
⇒ The Filter Bubble study makes it seem like the two are disconnected and can be compared to each other on some kind of equal basis.
“Comparing the individual choice to algorithmic suppression is like asking about the amount of trans fatty acids in french fries, a newly-added ingredient to the menu, and being told that hamburgers, which have long been on the menu, also have trans-fatty acids.”
⇒ In other words, Facebook’s algorithmic filter magnifies the already human tendency to avoid news or opinions that we don’t agree with.
⇒  In addition to the framing of the research . which tries to claim that being exposed to differing opinions isn’t necessarily a positive thing for society ,the conclusion that user choice is the big problem just doesn’t ring true.
“The tobacco industry might once have funded a study that says that smoking is less dangerous than coal mining, but here we have a study about coal miners smoking…. there is no scenario in which user choices vs. the algorithm can be traded off, because they happen together. Users select from what the algorithm already filtered for them. It is a sequence.”

Filter Bubble |Study Conclusion

Facebook’s attempt to argue that its algorithm is somehow unbiased or neutral ­and that the big problem is what users decide to click on and share  is disingenuous. The whole reason why some are so concerned about algorithmic filtering is that users’ behavior is ultimately determined by that filtering. The two processes are symbiotic, so arguing that one is worse than the other makes no sense.

In other words, not only does the study not actually prove what it claims to prove, but the argument that the site is making in defense of its algorithm also isn’t supported by the facts and in fact, can’t actually be proven by the study as it currently exists. And as Eli Pariser points out in his piece on Medium about the research, the study also can’t be reproduced  because the only people who are allowed access to the necessary data are researchers who work for Facebook.

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