Facebook has received its share of criticism in the past. The social media giant is being called out yet again for allowing discriminatory ads on its platform.
Campaign group Global Witness is behind these latest allegations after conducting an experiment seemingly proving that Facebook’s algorithm is flawed and promotes employment prejudice.
As part of the experiment, the group submitted two job advertisements to Facebook for approval, requesting that one not be seen to women and the other not be displayed to anyone over the age of 55. Facebook approved both of the ads for publication, despite them clearly discriminating against women and job seekers over a certain age. The group didn’t publish the job ads.
During their probe, the group also found that 96% of people who saw a Facebook ad for mechanic positions were men, whereas 95% of those who saw a Facebook ad for nursery nurse opportunities were women.
Head of the Digital Threats Campaign at Global Witness, Naomi Hirst, slammed Facebook for its algorithm and the way it allows for toxic job advertisements.
“It’s really shocking that Facebook’s own algorithm appears to target job ads in such a discriminatory way.”
Barrister Schona Jolly QC backed Global Witness’s claims after reviewing the group’s findings, stating that “Facebook’s system itself may, and does appear to, lead to discriminatory outcomes.”
Facebook says that it is reviewing the findings of the Global Witness investigation.
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