By Teresa Torres · producttalk.org · @ttorres on X · LinkedIn
Teresa Torres argues that the outrage over Facebook's social contagion experiment is inconsistent with how news outlets and internet companies already operate. She notes that editors and headline writers routinely select and frame stories to provoke emotion and drive clicks, and that Facebook's newsfeed has always been algorithmically filtered. Torres points out that many companies continuously run experiments on user behavior, and that some critical coverage misreported the study's manipulation and IRB approval. Rather than vilifying Facebook alone, she calls on the tech industry to collectively debate what data collection and emotional manipulation are acceptable.
01Key takeaways
- Engagement-driven curation and emotionally framed headlines are longstanding industry norms, not unique to Facebook.
- Feed algorithms always select what users see, so the question is which selection criteria are ethically acceptable.
- Most internet companies run constant experiments on users; teams should understand and disclose this.
- Check whether critical coverage of a story is accurate before forming a judgment, such as the study's IRB status.
- Industry-wide ethical standards for data collection and emotional influence are better than blaming one company.
02Key sections
- How news is curated
- Editors choose stories based on what attracts attention rather than strictly what people need to know. Emotional content, especially fear and hope, drives engagement.
- Headlines built to get clicks
- Publishers like Upworthy used emotionally charged, curiosity-driven headlines to grow rapidly, a practice common across the news industry.
- Is it manipulation?
- Torres acknowledges that outlets arguably manipulate audiences, but readers tolerate it and choose sources that fit their values rather than vilifying the press.
- Why the Facebook study is different
- Torres struggles to see what sets the study apart, since Facebook already filters feeds and internet firms routinely run behavioral experiments.
- A better conversation
- She suggests the real debate should be about ethics of data collection and emotional manipulation across the whole industry, not scapegoating one company.
03From the post
“There are thousands of news stories every day. More than any news publication or news hour could possibly cover. Car crashes, robberies, heroic feats, international skirmishes, sporting events, political battles, traffic jams, fires, weather reports, personal interest stories. The list is infinite. Every day, editors curate which stories are worthy”
Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.