In May 2016, Gizmodo published an article that alleged "Facebook workers routinely suppressed news stories of interest to conservative readers from the social network's influential 'trending' news section." Two months out from the Republican National Convention, Donald Trump was the clear favorite for the nomination, and the article "went off like a bomb in Menlo Park," Wired reports in a massive article published Monday on the internal decisions at Facebook over the course of the election.
But Facebook's biggest concern was an unhappy Sen. John Thune (R-S.C.), who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees the Federal Trade Commission. In addition to sending Thune a 12-page investigation that found Gizmodo's story was factually inaccurate, "Facebook decided, too, that it had to extend an olive branch to the entire American right wing," Wired writes. The resulting conference found Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg meeting with more than a dozen leading conservatives in May to "build trust."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
6 fantastic homes in Columbus, OhioFeature Featuring a 1915 redbrick Victorian in German Village and a modern farmhouse in Woodland Park
-
What Mike Huckabee means for US-Israel relationsIn the Spotlight Some observers are worried that the conservative evangelical minister could be a destabilizing influence on an already volatile region
-
Airplane food is reportedly getting much worseUnder the radar Cockroaches and E. coli are among the recent problems encountered in the skies
-
Boeing machinists approve contract, end strikeSpeed Read The company's largest union approved the new contract offer, ending a seven-week strike
-
US economy still strong in final preelection reportSpeed Read It grew at a solid 2.8% annual rate from July through September
-
Boeing machinists reject deal, continue strikeSpeed Read The rejection came the same day Boeing reported a $6.2 billion quarterly loss
-
Ports reopen after dockworkers halt strikeSpeed Read The 36 ports that closed this week, from Maine to Texas, will start reopening today
-
Empty-nest boomers aren't selling their big homesSpeed Read Most Americans 60 and older do not intend to move, according to a recent survey
-
Brazil accuses Musk of 'disinformation campaign'Speed Read A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk and X
-
Disney board fends off Peltz infiltration bidSpeed Read Disney CEO Bob Iger has defeated activist investor Nelson Peltz in a contentious proxy battle
-
Disney and DeSantis reach detenteSpeed Read The Florida governor and Disney settle a yearslong litigation over control of the tourism district
