(The article first appeared in The Times of India on July 31, 2021)
- At the core of Facebook’s recent troubles, the book argues, has been Mark Zuckerberg’s simplistic conception of free speech – refusing to take down misinformation, hate speech and inflammatory rhetoric, maintaining in every instance that “the only way to fight bad information is with good information”. This callow notion naturally has no defence against concerted hate campaigns, and the deliberate sowing of confusion and chaos. The platform actively amplifies these attempts, given the nature of the algorithm. Lacking a principled framework on speech, and single-mindedly chasing engagement and revenue, Facebook gave free play to Donald Trump’s provocations too, letting itself be used to plan the Capitol violence…
