Facebook admits social media is a potential threat to democracy, as it fights to ‘neutralise’ risk

Facebook acknowledged Monday that the explosion of social media poses a potential threat to democracy, pledging to tackle the problem head-on and turn its powerful platform into a force for “good.”

The comments from the world’s biggest social network were its latest response to intense criticism for failing to stop the spread of misinformation among its two billion users – most strikingly leading up to the 2016 US election.

In a blog post, Facebook civic engagement chief Samidh Chakrabarti said he was “not blind to the damage that the internet can do to even a well-functioning democracy.”

“In 2016, we at Facebook were far too slow to recognise how bad actors were abusing our platform,” he said. “We’re working diligently to neutralise these risks now.”

The post – one in a series dubbed “hard questions” – was part of a high-profile push by Facebook to reboot its image, including with the announcement last week that it would let users “rank” the trustworthiness of news sources to help stem the flow of false news.

“We’re as determined as ever to fight the negative influences and ensure that our platform is unquestionably a source for democratic good,” said Katie Harbath, Facebook’s head of global politics and government outreach, in an accompanying statement.