SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Is Facebook dividing people or bringing them together?

Feb 21, 2017, 6:33 PM | Updated: 6:34 pm

Facebook...

Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook as a social media platform to bring people together. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix, File)

(AP Photo/Esteban Felix, File)

The founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, was recently interviewed by Wired magazine. In the piece, Zuckerberg talked about how Facebook is dividing people when his original intent was to bring people together.

Related: Are advances in tech always a good thing?

Now, Zuckerberg is a technology and business genius. That is undeniable. In our society, we want to think that people who have brilliance in one area are brilliant in every area. But hardly anyone can be brilliant on multiple levels.

Zuckerberg was asked if he thought the election had changed people’s perception of Facebook. He wasn’t really able to answer the question. And this is so true of technology people.

They do not understand that there is no technology in politics that is not used to divide. There is no technology in politics that is not designed to set one group off against another. There are no positive uses for technology in politics.

The simple solution would be to let people opt in to a “no politics” block. It would be a simple algorithm to write. But that would eat into the social media company’s model.

They could also stop taking political ads.

Zuckerberg needs to realize he built a weapon. And that this has become a feelings war.

As always, please listen to the full audio clip for complete context.

California Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton speaks during a news conference to launc...

Associated Press

Steve Hilton faces steep odds in bid for California governor after 20-year GOP drought

LOS ANGELES (AP) — To become California’s next governor, Republican Steve Hilton must conjure up a feat of political wizardry, the equivalent of pulling voters out of thin air in a state that hasn’t elected a Republican to any statewide office in two decades. “I’ve never said it’s going to be easy,” Hilton said in […]

32 minutes ago

This photo provided by Jack Pearadin shows the American Dream diamond sitting on top of a large gem...

Associated Press

Arkansas gem hunter says he found what may be a $1 million diamond

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Jack Pearadin is the first to admit that his diamond-hunting hobby hasn’t paid off, despite sifting rocks for more than a dozen years. But earlier this year, the Navy reservist and his friend shoveled a six-carat diamond from a field in Arkansas where he’s found over 300 gems so far. […]

1 hour ago

President Donald Trump speaks as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, right, and Energy Secretary Chr...

Associated Press

Iowa lawmakers to vote on raising tax incentive cap for a $15B steel plant

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa lawmakers will return to the Statehouse Friday to consider expanding the ceiling on state tax incentives in an effort to secure a $15 billion steel plant project for the state. President Donald Trump announced the plant Monday alongside Iowa elected officials, heralding the project as a major economic and […]

7 hours ago

Associated Press

Trump tried to make an ally out of fishermen. Some have started to turn on him

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — John Evich, a commercial fisherman in Washington and Alaska, has voted for President Donald Trump three times, viewing him as someone who would fight for his industry. But these days, Evich is weary of the high cost of doing business at sea, with fuel prices rising and trade hostilities with Canada […]

7 hours ago

Emergency vehicles arrive at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution after the execution of Christa ...

Associated Press

Many states have backup execution plans, but failures still happen

Long before Christa Pike was brought into Tennessee’s execution chamber, prison leaders reviewed and approved a backup plan detailing exactly what to do if the first attempt at lethal injection failed. But the backup plan also failed, and Thursday — 24 hours later — Pike was still alive but in critical condition at a Tennessee […]

7 hours ago

FILE - A natural gas meter operates Jan. 22, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)Cre...

Associated Press

Households will pay more for energy because of Trump’s policy changes, think tank says

Households in the contiguous United States will pay thousands of dollars more for energy through 2040 because of federal policy changes since President Donald Trump returned to office, according to modeling released Friday by a nonpartisan think tank. The Energy Innovation analysis found that households will pay an average of $6,500 more for energy, cumulatively […]

7 hours ago

Is Facebook dividing people or bringing them together?