Facebook shelves a feature intended to encourage civil political discourse
Reports suggest that Facebook has shelved a feature, fearing a conservative backlash that was intended to encourage more civil discussion among users of opposing political beliefs.
According to Wall Street Journal reports on Sunday, Joel Kaplan, Facebook's Global Head of Policy, flagged that the project is known as 'Common Ground' could lead to accusations that the site was biased against conservatives.
Kaplan, a former White House aide to George W. Bush who has emerged as Facebook's protector against allegations of political bias, was concerned that the change would disproportionately impact the conservative users, said the report.
According to The Verge reports, sources told the WSJ that the Common Ground project could have changed how the News Feeds were ranked and de-emphasised "hateful" comments.
Facebook in the past has been alleged by the Conservatives that Facebook was biased against them, which the social media giant has denied.
While "Common Ground" might have been halted apparently to remove bias, there are concerns that Kaplan, who attended Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation hearing, himself has been biased.
(With IANS inputs)
