Facebook researchers were warning about its recommendations fueling QAnon in 2019

Facebook officials have long known about how the platform’s recommendations can lead users into conspiracy theory-addled “rabbit holes.” Now, we know just how clear that picture was thanks to documents provided by Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen.

During the summer of 2019, a Facebook researcher found that it took just five days for the company to begin recommending QAnon groups and other disturbing content to a fictional account, according to an internal report whose findings were reported by NBC News, The Wall Street Journal and others Friday. The document, titled “Carol’s Journey to QAnon” was also in a cache of records provided by Haugen to the Securities and Exchange Commission as part of her whistleblower complaint.

It reportedly describes how a Facebook researcher set up a brand new account for “Carol,” who was described as a “conservative mom.” After liking a few conservative, but “mainstream” pages, Facebook’s algorithms began suggesting more fringe and conspiracy content. Within five days of joining Facebook, “Carol” was seeing “groups with overt QAnon affiliations,” conspiracy theories about “white genocide” and other content described by the researcher as “extreme, conspiratorial, and graphic content.”

The fact that Facebook’s recommendations were fueling QAnon conspiracy theories and other concerning …read more