‘PROJECT AMPLIFY’

Facebook Execs ‘Shocked’ by Zuckerberg Plan to Artificially Boost Flattering News Stories, Says Report

The plan—known internally as “Project Amplify”—was reportedly signed off on by Zuckerberg.

If you’ve spotted a bunch of stories on your Facebook newsfeed that make Mark Zuckerberg look like one of the coolest guys on Earth, a report from The New York Times might help explain why. The newspaper reports it has obtained details of the social network’s new plan to fix its image problem, and it’s said to include the artificial boosting of pro-Facebook stories on the newsfeeds of its billions of users. The NYT’s sources said the plan—known internally as “Project Amplify”—was personally signed off on by Zuckerberg, and even involved pushing pro-Facebook news items written by Facebook staff. According to the Times, some executives were “shocked” by the proposal when it was put forward in January. Facebook spokesman Joe Osborne denied to the Times that its approach has shifted, saying: “People deserve to know the steps we’re taking to address the different issues facing our company—and we’re going to share those steps widely.”