Facebook apologized for its failure over ad-targeting practices which played off of offensive content. A ProPublica investigation found that anti-Semitic categories created by an algorithm “enabled advertisers to direct their pitches to the news feeds of almost 2,300 people who expressed interest in the topics of “Jew hater,” “How to burn jews,” or, “History of ‘why jews ruin the world.” Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer, stated that the social media giant would employ more people to ensure this does not happen again. These revelations come on the heels of Facebook admitting to at least $100,000 in fake Russian ads purchases during the election. The social media giant has agreed to cooperate with Congress to prevent future tampering. “It is a new challenge for internet communities to have to deal with nation states attempting to subvert elections. But if that’s what we must do, we are committed to rising to the occasion,” said Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg. Congress is seeking to tighten regulations on Facebook and other social media platforms.
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