[kictanet] Is Facebook biased on its newsfeed?

Sun May 15 09:04:34 EAT 2016

Here's a post from Joël Kaplan, head of public policy at Facebook, and someone who happens to be a conservative Republican who was a George W. Bush appointee in the White House before joining Facebook.

I wouldn't underestimate the extent to which this particular anonymous charge is linked to the US' current poisonous political environment.

Might be useful-
https://m.facebook.com/joeldkaplan1/posts/1333825166634607

"There's been a lot of discussion recently about Facebook and politics. In the wake of a news report claiming certain stories were suppressed in the Trending Topics feature, some conservatives said they feared we're censoring different political views and that Facebook is biased.

A lot of people at Facebook are working to figure out if there are parts of the Trending Topics process that are broken - and if so how they should be fixed. Though we've found no evidence the report is true, it is deeply troubling, and if there is a problem, we want to uncover it and correct it. We've written more on this topic here: http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2016/05/information-about-trending-topics/

This matters to us because Facebook has always been a place where anyone can share their opinions and engage in discussion. And it especially matters to me. I'm Facebook's VP of Global Public Policy, and I'm also a Republican and a conservative. We have a team that works to help ensure that everyone, including Republicans, can optimize their use of Facebook in communicating with constituents and fans. The leader of that team is Katie Harbath, a longtime Republican adviser and digital strategist.

I have heard the claims of bias from friends and colleagues. But that is not the truth of Facebook — and I want to share how we ensure we're a home for all voices, including conservatives.

Let me lay out some basic facts. In the US, there are an equal number of conservatives and liberals using our platform, and conservatives are just as engaged — if not more so. Conservative groups are thriving on Facebook, with exceptionally high levels of engagement. This election is one of the most discussed topics on Facebook that we've ever seen. Over 75 million unique people have had 1.7 billion interactions about the candidates and the issues. Over the past 30 days, more people engaged in a conversation about Donald J. Trump on Facebook than any other US presidential candidate.

Some of the best run digital campaigns of the 2016 Presidential race have been taking place on Facebook. Many of the candidates used Facebook  to announce their candidacies and engage with voters. Donald Trump and Dr. Ben Carson had the biggest presences on Facebook of all the candidates from either party.  Carson's advisers said Facebook was at the heart of their strategy and used Facebook to talk directly with their supporters every night. Ted Cruz's campaign was a consistent early adopter of our newest ad products - and they used these to communicate directly with supporters at key moments, like debates.

It's not just the campaigns. Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan regularly uses Facebook to go live. He's done live Q&As, including with Newt Gingrich and The Wall Street Journal. And Gingrich himself is a longtime user of Facebook, relying on it to provide his political commentary.

Even among conservatives, there are many divergent views, and we're committed to being a place for all of them. Numerous independent media outlets have built strong followings on Facebook and use the platform every day to communicate. Independent Journal - America has over 7.5 million Facebook fans and has leveraged Facebook from its creation to grow its media business. Glenn Beck has over 3.2 million fans and is an innovative publisher on the platform with his site TheBlaze. The list goes on.

We are also active with conservatives on the partnerships front. Since 2015, we've sponsored nine debates for both parties -- and we were proud to be a partner with Fox News for the first Republican debate last August, the highest-rated debate of all time. We have committed to sponsoring and attending both the GOP Convention and Democratic National Convention this summer, to make sure the conversation around these important events happens on Facebook.  Similarly, over the last few years we have sponsored or sent Facebook representatives to numerous gatherings of conservatives—like RightOnline, Lincoln Initiative, Americans for Prosperity, RedState, and the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB)--so that we can help show the most active conservative speakers and leaders how to make their voices heard on our platform.

I love the fact that conservative voices are so strong on Facebook — and that we are the place where the political debate takes place. But ultimately my own political perspective isn't what matters. What's important is that we are truly open to everyone — and that they know it."

Ebele Okobi | Head of Public Policy, Africa
m. +44 (0) 771 156 1315<tel:+44%20(0)%20771%20156%201315>
10 Brock Street | London<x-apple-data-detectors://0/1> | NW1 3FG
ebeleokobi at fb.com<mailto:ebeleokobi at fb.com>

[6F376569-CC77-422B-BAD3-794055B1E02B]

On May 15, 2016, at 5:44 AM, scmutunga via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>> wrote:

James Kagwe via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>> wrote:

Machine learning can be considered subordinate to algorithm in this context. Remember an application must have some elements of algorithm but not neccesarily apply the principles of machine learning. In my view it's the algorithm at fault here.

My thoughts.

Rgds,
James Kagwe

On May 12, 2016 6:57 PM, "Ahmed Mohamed Maawy via kictanet" <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>> wrote:
I agree there would not be Machine Learning without Algorithms. But lets examine the nature of a lie. A lie contains an element of "data" in it. Algorithms are computational in nature, so if fed with "lies" .. that's where the problem is.

My point is we cant really squarely blame the Algorithm, we have to blame the data (Algorithms + Data = Machine Learning).

On Thu, May 12, 2016 at 6:50 PM, Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke<mailto:ali at hussein.me.ke>> wrote:

Exactly Ahmed. :-)

So would you agree that without algorithms there will be no machine learning?

Ali Hussein
Tel: +254 713 601113

On May 12, 2016 6:48 PM, "Ahmed Mohamed Maawy" <ultimateprogramer at gmail.com<mailto:ultimateprogramer at gmail.com>> wrote:
I may be wrong anyway Ali. But maybe its the way I see these 2 disciplines.

But I think Algorithms are more of computations and logic operations. Machine Learning gives these Algorithms the decision making capabilities and comprise of a set of algorithms + historic data with the capability to make predicitions.

On Thu, May 12, 2016 at 6:44 PM, Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke<mailto:ali at hussein.me.ke>> wrote:

Ahmed

I stand educated. :-)

Thank you.

Ali Hussein
Tel: +254 713 601113

On May 12, 2016 6:42 PM, "Ahmed Mohamed Maawy" <ultimateprogramer at gmail.com<mailto:ultimateprogramer at gmail.com>> wrote:
Ali, This is what I mean:

Algorithms: a process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer.

Machine Learning: Machine learning is a subfield of computer science that evolved from the study of pattern recognition and computational learning theory in artificial intelligence. In 1959, Arthur Samuel defined machine learning as a "Field of study that gives computers the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed"

On Thu, May 12, 2016 at 6:36 PM, Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke<mailto:ali at hussein.me.ke>> wrote:
Ahmed

Machine learning doesn't happen in a vacuum...

Ali Hussein
Principal
Hussein & Associates
+254 0713 601113 / 0770906375

Twitter: @AliHKassim

Skype: abu-jomo

LinkedIn: <a href="http://ke

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