When the left loved Facebook | Charles Debno | The Critic Magazine

Amongst the sort of left-leaning middle class in whose imagination the Brexit referendum or the election(s) of Donald Trump occupy the same place as the defeats at Isandlwana and Majuba Hill did for the Victorians, Facebook has in recent years become a target of disgust and animosity. These people, whose political and moral certainties immunise them from self-reflection, blame the social media platform’s algorithms for radicalising voters and pushing inflammatory content. Aaron Sorkin’s new-ish film, The Social Reckoning outright blames the platform and its refusal to be a public arbiter and remove radicalising content for the January 6 th riot at the US Capitol building. This, according to Sorkin and the aforementioned sensibles, is the worst thing Facebook has ever done. They might ask the Rohingya or the people of East Tigray if they agree. This argument has always been overegged. It has more in common with the jilted lover making excuses about his ex’s richer and more successful partner. Because the truth is that, in its early years and up until very recently, Facebook was a powerful weapon in the progressive arsenal for political change and the “right” kind of political radicalisation. “Our grassroots organising and righteous indignation, their
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