Henry Farrell

Facebook and Falsehood

After the election, many people blamed Facebook for spreading partisan — and largely pro-Trump — “fake news,” like Pope Francis’s endorsement of Trump, or Hillary Clinton’s secret life-threatening illness. The company was assailed for prioritizing user “engagement,” meaning that its algorithms probably favored juicy fake news over other kinds of stories. Those algorithms had taken on greater prominence since August, when Facebook fired its small team of human beings who curated its “trending” news section, following conservative complaints that it was biased against the right.

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Other Writing:

Academic Article

The Janus Face of the Liberal International Information Order: When Global Institutions are Self-Undermining – with Abraham Newman

February 9, 2021 International Organization Vol 75 with Abraham Newman
Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman (2021), “The Janus Face of the Liberal International Information Order: When Global Institutions are Self-Undermining,” International Organization Vol 75, No.2:333-58 (75th anniversary special issue). Scholars and policymakers long believed that norms of global information openness and private-sector governance helped to sustain and promote liberalism. These norms are being increasingly contested ...
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Essay

What Happens When Tech Bros Run National Security? – with Abraham Newman

September 20, 2023 Time with Abraham Newman
It’s September 2023, and markets have become battlefields, as economics and geopolitics become ever more closely intertwined. Many think that we are returning to the Cold War, but we’re not. Back then, the military had the materiel and commanded the view of war. Now, after thirty years of globalization, it’s very often business that commands ...
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