Facebook had a terrible year in 2021. Here are some of the highlights. Hopefully in 2022, we can wrest this company away from its incompetent leadership (#FireZuck) and stop it from harming health, safety, human rights and democracy.
If anyone can do it, it’s Facebook users.
1. Facebook’s key role in the January 6th insurrection is revealed
- Tech Transparency Project: Capitol Attack Was Months in the Making on Facebook
- Forbes: Sheryl Sandberg Downplayed Facebook’s Role In The Capitol Hill Siege—Justice Department Files Tell A Very Different Story
2. ProPublica exposes Sheryl Sandberg “is fine with” Facebook silencing opponents of authoritarian governments
3. Facebook Admits its Most Viewed Article in Early 2021 Raised Doubt About COVID Vaccines
- New York Times: Facebook, fearing public outcry, shelved earlier report on popular posts
- US News & World Report: Use Facebook a Lot? You’re More Likely to Be Unvaccinated
4. Biden Administration Tells Facebook its COVID Lies are Killing People
- Reuters: White House slams Facebook as conduit for COVID-19 misinformation
- CNN: Surgeon general issues warning over vaccine misinformation as White House turns up the heat on Facebook
5. Facebook critic, Maria Ressa of the Philippines, Wins Nobel Peace Prize
- Reuters: Philippine Nobel winner Ressa calls Facebook ‘biased against facts’
- Washington Post: Why the Nobel Peace Prize award is a huge blow to Facebook
6. Wall Street Journal releases the bombshell “Facebook Files”
Instagram is toxic for teenage girls; high-profile FB users are exempt from the site’s rules; Facebook is used for human trafficking; and more
- Wall Street Journal: The Facebook Files
- Wall Street Journal: The Facebook Files, a Podcast Series
7. Facebook Whistleblower Speaks Out, Files SEC Complaint
- CBS: The 60 Minutes Interview: Facebook Whistleblower Frances Haugen
- FrancesHaugen.com: Opening Statement to Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation
- CBS News: Whistleblower’s SEC complaint: Facebook knew platform was used to “promote human trafficking and domestic servitude”
8. News Consortium Publishes “Facebook Papers” Based on Leaked Documents
- New York Magazine: What Is Being Leaked in the Facebook Papers? A guide to the biggest revelations.
- Protocol: Here are all the Facebook Papers stories
9. Rohingya Muslims Sue Facebook for Amplifying Hate Speech That Incited Violence in Myanmar
- Guardian: Rohingya sue Facebook for £150bn over Myanmar genocide
- Facebook/BSR: Human Rights Impact Assessment: Facebook in Myanmar
10. Facebook Voted Worst Company of the Year
Have any other bad Facebook moments you want to add? Post a comment.
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More background on Facebook’s really bad 2021
Avaaz: Facebook: From elections to insurrection
Book: An Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook’s Battle for Domination
BuzzFeed: “Mark Changed The Rules”: How Facebook Went Easy On Alex Jones And Other Right-Wing Figures
Center for Countering Digital Hate: The Disinformation Dozen: Why platforms must act on twelve leading online anti-vaxxers
Global Project Against Hate and Extremism: Democracies Under Threat — How Loopholes for Trump’s Social Media Enabled The Global Rise of Far-Right Extremism