‘VIOLENCE AND GORE’

Facebook Recommended Pics of Dead Bodies to Its Own Researchers in India

One Facebook employee wrote, “Following this test user’s News Feed, I’ve seen more images of dead people in the past three weeks than I’ve seen in my entire life total.”

Facebook’s recommendation algorithms fed its own researchers in India pictures and videos of sectarian violence and dead bodies. A researcher created a dummy account for a user in Kerala, India, in February 2019 and followed the social network’s recommendations to test the experience of an average user, according to documents leaked by Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen. The memo written by the researcher conducting the test documented a “near constant barrage of polarizing nationalist content, misinformation, and violence and gore.” The researcher wrote, “Following this test user’s News Feed, I’ve seen more images of dead people in the past three weeks than I’ve seen in my entire life total.” The documents detail how Facebook researchers in the United States conducted similar tests, creating dummy accounts for conservative users that the site promptly steered towards QAnon and conspiracy theories.