Facebook news selection is in hands of editors not algorithms, documents show
by Sam Thielman in New York from on (#1DH6W)
Exclusive: Leaked internal guidelines show human intervention at almost every stage of its news operation, akin to a traditional media organization
Leaked documents show how Facebook, now the biggest news distributor on the planet, relies on old-fashioned news values on top of its algorithms to determine what the hottest stories will be for the 1 billion people who visit the social network every day.
The documents, given to the Guardian, come amid growing concerns over how Facebook decides what is news for its users. This week the company was accused of an editorial bias against conservative news organizations, prompting calls for a congressional inquiry from the US Senate commerce committee chair, John Thune.