Thread by @kreissdaniel

Here is where I think the focus is exceptionally too narrow on Facebook. Basically, amid a call for researching FB's role in January 6th, the authors' here are eliding Trump's, the Republican Party's, and the right-wing media ecosystem's role. Thread nytimes.com/2021/02/17/opi…

Here is the core argument, Trump's speech was made dangerous b/c many users were "shunted into echo chambers by Facebook’s algorithms, and insulated from counterarguments by Facebook’s architecture."

I understand 100% that content mod is not the whole game and algorithms were important. But based on all of our available theory/evidence, the problem is primarily one of Republican elites in a large and hybrid media ecosystem.

If Facebook should research its role, so absolutely should Fox News and the Republican Party research their roles in January 6th.

It would also require a recognition that free speech absolutism without balancing for other rights/values, and speech without editorial checks and democratic norms, is harmful to democracy as well.

It is one reason why in our @unc_citap comment to the @OversightBoard we argued @Facebook got the Trump case right: citap.unc.edu/wp-content/upl…

@unc_citap @OversightBoard @Facebook The @OversightBoard must recognize that @Facebook's own standards require a balancing approach to freedom of expression - Trump's speech, and those of Republican elites, was designed to subvert the public's voice at the ballot box.

@unc_citap @OversightBoard @Facebook Algorithms are not irrelevant, but they are tangential to the main issue here. The Trump case is a question of whether Facebook will let political elites undermine their own accountability at the ballot box. The answer should be no, in every case of political leaders.