More than three-quarters of American adults believe Facebook is damaging society, according to a CNN poll released Wednesday.


What You Need To Know

  • More than three-quarters of American adults believe Facebook is damaging society, according to a CNN poll released Wednesday

  • The negative view of the social media giant was shared across gender, age and racial lines, and the majority of Republicans, Democrats and independents also agreed Facebook does more harm than good

  • Even frequent Facebook users have an unfavorable opinion of it, with 70% of those who use the site several times a week saying it makes society worse

  • Forty-nine percent of respondents say they know someone who they think was persuaded to believe a conspiracy theory because of content posted on Facebook

Seventy-six percent of those surveyed said they believe the social media platform makes society worse. Just 11% said Facebook improves society, while 13% said it has no effect either way.

The negative view of the social media giant was shared across gender, age and racial lines. The majority of Republicans, Democrats and independents also agreed Facebook does more harm than good, although the feeling was stronger among GOP members — 82% compared to 70% among Democrats and 76% among independents.

Even frequent Facebook users have an unfavorable opinion of it, with 70% of those who use the site several times a week saying it makes society worse.

Forty-nine percent of respondents say they know someone who they think was persuaded to believe a conspiracy theory because of content posted on Facebook. And 54% of frequent Facebook users say the platform has suggested content they found objectionable.

Americans were split on whom was largely to blame for what they see as Facebook’s toxicity. Fifty-five percent most blamed the way some people use Facebook, while 45% blame Facebook for the way it runs its operation.

Fifty-three percent of Americans surveyed said the federal government should increase its regulation of the platform, while 11% said it should decreased its regulation and 35% said it should not make changes.

Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Spectrum News.

Facebook, which changed the name of its parent company to Meta last month, has come under fire in recent weeks after internal documents were released to news outlets, lawmakers and regulators that showed the company was aware of the mental-health problems its Instagram app causes for some young people, knew its algorithms recommended hateful or harmful content, and struggled to moderate comments, among other issues. Meanwhile, the company publicly downplayed the negative impacts of its platforms.

In testimony before a Senate subcommittee last month, whistleblower Frances Haugen, a former Facebook product manager, told lawmakers the company’s leadership knows how to make the apps safer, “but won't make the necessary changes because they have put their astronomical profits before people.”

She also urged Congress to regulate the social media giant.

Facebook has claimed its internal research has been mischaracterized publicly and has sought to discredit Haugen as an ex-employee with limited knowledge about the company’s operations. It, however, has agreed that new, uniformed internet rules are needed.

Haugen has since spoken to officials in London and Berlin, as well as at a tech conference in Lisbon, Portugal. She is scheduled to address French lawmakers in Parish on Wednesday.

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