Mark Zuckerberg: Facebook's horrible year was pretty good, actually

In a year-in-review post, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg said on Friday he is "proud of the progress we've made."

Yes, he really is that deluded.

I wonder what would have to happen for Zuckerberg to _not_ be proud of Facebook's record on privacy and trust? https://t.co/ebCQIbE1hL

- Anil Dash (@anildash) December 28, 2018

Zuckerberg said some of Facebook's problems with misinformation and protecting users' personal data will take years to solve.

"We've fundamentally altered our DNA to focus more on preventing harm in all our services, and we've systematically shifted a large portion of our company to work on preventing harm," he wrote.

Zuck claims Facebook now has 30,000 workers focused on safety, or roughly one Facebook safety employee per every 75,600 monthly active users.

"Mark Zuckerberg used the word 'progress' six times in his year-end self-assessment," notes Ryan Mac. "That's one way of looking at Facebook's 2018."

From Ryan's Buzzfeed post:

Though much of what Zuckerberg wrote on Friday is not new - it is mostly rehashed from previous talking points - the Facebook chief's note underscored the notion that Facebook will never be perfect. Zuckerberg acknowledges that election interference and harmful speech "can never be fully solved"

"That doesn't mean we'll catch every bad actor or piece of bad content, or that people won't find more examples of past mistakes before we improved our systems," he notes.

As if to prove his point, one of the final scandals the company faced in 2018? An admission on Wednesday from one of its early investors, Reid Hoffman, who said he financed a misinformation campaign in the during the 2017 special election for an Alabama Senate seat. Facebook has not taken action against Hoffman's account and said an investigation remains ongoing.

Below, tweets today from former Facebook security chief Alex Stamos, and reporting by others on what's at stake with the social media giant as we enter 2019.

I think we need a new mental model that teases out the various parts of these products based upon the amplification each component gives individuals, and to apply rules to each level in a way that balances individual freedoms.

A first-order disassembly of the Facebook *product*: https://t.co/PBIu97YSAt

- Alex Stamos (@alexstamos) December 28, 2018

A reminder of the power and reach of Facebook. Given all that has transpired, it's still the platform for speaking to the masses. https://t.co/ywZEityupM

- Brian Fitzgerald (@BryFitz) December 28, 2018

A BuzzFeed News analysis found that 50 of the biggest fake stories of 2018 generated roughly 22 million total shares, reactions, and comments on Facebook. https://t.co/1pfzmy8s4W

- Lisa Tozzi (@lisatozzi) December 28, 2018

After spending two years launching fact checking programs, rolling out News Feed updates, and investing in other anti-misinformation initiatives, Facebook is still the home of viral fake news.

Our annual rundown of the Facebook Fake News 50: https://t.co/qIM7DYMCFi

- Craig Silverman (@CraigSilverman) December 28, 2018

Last year, FB product manager Tessa Lyons told BuzzFeed News there would be a decline in 2018 fake news engagement numbers. @CraigSilverman and @scottpham found the decline was marginal. https://t.co/qmm7F01arT pic.twitter.com/pjBEQHCWbl

- Jane Lytvynenko (@JaneLytv) December 28, 2018