Facebook changes to Trending Topics questioned after blunder

Facebook changes to Trending Topics questioned after blunder
In this May 16, 2012, file photo, the Facebook logo is displayed on an iPad in Philadelphia. Changes to Facebook's Trending Topics section announced Aug. 26, 2016, are being questioned after it featured a fake news story and another story about an inappropriate video. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Facebook's changes to its "Trending Topics" section are being questioned after it featured a false report about Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly.

The story posted Saturday falsely claimed Kelly had been fired by Fox because she secretly supported Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Another topic trending was #McChicken, which took users to stories about a video of a man using the McDonald's sandwich in a sex act.

Facebook announced Friday that an algorithm would select trending topics in place of humans but human editors would still screen them.

Menlo Park, California-based Facebook has apologized for the Kelly story, telling CBS News its editors mistakenly thought it was legitimate before realizing the error. Facebook says that the McChicken topic doesn't violate its content policy and that any trending topic that reflects a real-world event may be featured.

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Citation: Facebook changes to Trending Topics questioned after blunder (2016, August 31) retrieved 16 April 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2016-08-facebook-trending-topics-blunder.html
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