Whistleblower and former Facebook employee Frances Haugen joined Daily Show host Trevor Noah to discuss concerning revelations about the company’s impact on society which she famously leaked last year. Explaining how Facebook’s algorithm prioritises content, Haugen noted that while she doesn’t think it’s intentionally divisive, that’s certainly the end result.
“A ‘high quality’ piece of content is one that gets lots of engagement,” said Haugen. ‘And it turns out an angry comment thread where, you know, it causes us to yell at each other, that is viewed as a higher quality piece of content.”
Noah also shared his personal experience of seeing Facebook’s algorithms at work, and how they serve to divide people.
“One time we had [a segment] on the show where literally I’d laid out both arguments,” said Noah. “But then on Facebook, only one way went to each group. And I was fascinated by that, ’cause then people are like, ‘Why didn’t you say it the other way?’ I was like, ‘But that’s exactly what I said.’ They’re like, ‘Oh, well I didn’t see that.'”
