When Facebook Experimented on Your Emotions: The Secret Study That Manipulated 689,000 Users
Meta conducted a psychological experiment altering News Feed content to test emotional contagion without informed consent
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In January 2012, Facebook conducted one of the most controversial experiments in the history of technology companies. Without informed consent, the company manipulated the News Feeds of approximately 689,003 users over one week, systematically altering the emotional content they saw to test whether emotional states could be transferred through social media. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2014, found that they could — and ignited a firestorm over corporate experimentation on unsuspecting users.
The experiment, officially titled "Experimental Evidence of Massive-Scale Emotional Contagion Through Social Networks," divided users into two groups. One group had positive content reduced in their News Feed; the other had negative content reduced.
Key Takeaways
- Facebook manipulated News Feeds of 689,003 users in 2012 to test emotional contagion without informed consent
- The study proved Facebook can influence users' emotional states by adjusting algorithmic content selection
- The experiment violated fundamental research ethics principles and contributed to momentum for GDPR protections
Frequently Asked Questions
What about: Facebook manipulated News Feeds of 689,003 users in 2012 to test emotional contagion without informed consent?
Facebook manipulated News Feeds of 689,003 users in 2012 to test emotional contagion without informed consent. Read the full analysis in our article: When Facebook Experimented on Your Emotions: The Secret Study That Manipulated 689,000 Users.
What about: The study proved Facebook can influence users' emotional states by adjusting algorithmic content selection?
The study proved Facebook can influence users' emotional states by adjusting algorithmic content selection. Read the full analysis in our article: When Facebook Experimented on Your Emotions: The Secret Study That Manipulated 689,000 Users.
What about: The experiment violated fundamental research ethics principles and contributed to momentum for GDPR protections?
The experiment violated fundamental research ethics principles and contributed to momentum for GDPR protections. Read the full analysis in our article: When Facebook Experimented on Your Emotions: The Secret Study That Manipulated 689,000 Users.
What is the main point of "When Facebook Experimented on Your Emotions: The Secret Study That Manipulated 689,000 Users"?
Facebook secretly manipulated the News Feeds of 689,000 users to test emotional contagion without informed consent in a 2012 experiment.
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