Facebook has been stumbling through several crises for weeks. The worldwide total failure of all of its networks for hours is only one low point of many. The focus is on the founder himself.
On Monday evening, Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram went to their knees – nothing worked on social networks. (Read all information here.)
“We know that some people have problems reaching our apps and products. We are working to fix things as quickly as possible and we apologize for the inconvenience,” said a Facebook officer. It sounded like a gross understatement that blended in perfectly with the difficult weeks the Internet giant is currently going through – but one after the other.
Mark Zuckerberg loses $ 6 billion of his fortune
For Facebook and its founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the total failure of its channels meant one thing above all: a financial fiasco. The Facebook share crashed, Zuckerberg lost, according to “Bloomberg” in the seven hours about six billion dollars of his assets.
For the US company, the next low blow in a series of scandals. Just a few weeks ago, the Wall Street Journal revealed a series of internal documents entitled “The Facebook Files”. This makes it clear: Facebook has known for years that the Instagram app in particular contributes to its users’ psychological problems. Many users blamed Instagram for anxiety disorders and depression. Six to 13 percent of respondents with eating disorders or depression attributed them (also) to the app. The revelations showed: Facebook tried to keep these results under wraps and downplayed them internally.
Only three to six percent of hateful content is combated by Facebook
It is thanks to the whistleblower Frances Haugen that these and other scandals were able to reach the public. The data scientist worked for Facebook from 2019 to 2021 and had backed up dozens of documents during that time. A central point in their allegations against Zuckerberg and his company: Facebook earns money with hatred and anger – growth is more important than the safety of users or laws in the respective countries.
Haugen supports these allegations, among other things, with a study that Facebook carried out itself this year. According to this, only about three to six percent of the hateful and 0.6 percent of the violent content would be combated.
In addition, millions of accounts are to be stored in Facebook’s “XCheck” program, which are allowed to circumvent the general community rules. The result: These accounts do not have to fear any consequences, for example if they incite violence or harass other users.
In this context the question inevitably arises: What role does Mark Zuckerberg himself play?
The fact is: For a long time, the company’s strategy was to hide from any responsibility. But the pressure on the top and on Zuckerberg itself has been growing for years. According to the “Facebook Files”, Facebook employees have repeatedly drawn attention to the problem that the network brings with it in developing countries: According to this, Facebook is an important tool for criminals there. Regardless of whether it is agitation against minorities, organ trafficking or human trafficking – apps like Whatsapp not only serve the harmless communication of billions of people worldwide, but also simple and unfiltered communication and the arranging of criminal offenses.
Mark Zuckerberg seems helpless – and takes refuge in sarcasm
The CEO himself seems overwhelmed and helpless in this long-term crisis. For a long time, Zuckerberg did not even react to the allegations made by the “Facebook Files”. The company issued a press release entitled “Where the Wall Street Journal Is Wrong”. In this, Facebook stated: “These stories deliberately misrepresent what we are trying to do, and imply outrageously wrong motives for the Facebook leadership.” The tech company has also already invested more than $ 13 billion in security infrastructure.
Only after the “New York Times” published an article in which it stated that Facebook would react to criticism with a new PR strategy, Zuckerberg also made a statement. According to “NYT”, instead of responding to allegations, Facebook is planning to simply flush more positive news into the timeline for its users. Facebook advertises itself on Facebook.
An example of this action is a video by Zuckerberg in which he glided across the water on a vehicle. The CEO responded with sarcasm: “It’s one thing when the media tells the wrong things about my work. But they cross the line when they write about an electric surfboard, even though I’m clearly using a hydrofoil in the video, which I mean pump your own legs. ”
His statements have not calmed the situation. And the current revelations are likely to cause a stir in the coming weeks. Then comes the fact that the company’s own network technology caused an outage for hours at the worst possible time. But it also fits in with the overall picture that the company and its boss have been giving for weeks.
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