Facebook changes policies, will put editors through political diversity training

These changes will include training for editors on how to avoid political bias, the elimination of the top-ten approved websites list, an expanded Help Center that explains how Trending Topics operates in greater detail, and the discontinuation of its analysis of other websites which determines what stories appear in the section.

The social network’s executives have been agreeable and willing to work with conservatives in an attempt to reestablish trust.

In response to a letter written by Senator John Thune (R-S.D.), demanding that Facebook reveal how stories are selected for Trending Topics, Facebook published a lengthy blog post on Monday, detailing how articles are chosen for that section of the site.

The response was unprecedented because Facebook had never disclosed how the feature operates before. The post, written by Facebook General Counsel Colin Stretch explained that liberal and conservative articles were approved for the section at almost identical rates. Despite this, Stretch admitted that human error was possible.

“Our investigation could not fully exclude the possibility of isolated improper actions or unintentional bias in the implementation of our guidelines or policies,” he wrote in the blog post.

Stretch’s admission prompted Thune to announce in a statement Monday that he believes Facebook’s willingness to admit to the possibility of human error “lends credibility to its findings.”

Facebook stands by its initial desire to mend fences between the site and conservative Republicans.

“This process has helped us to identify valuable improvements to our service,” Stretch wrote in his post. “These improvements and safeguards are designed not only to ensure that Facebook remains a platform that is open and welcoming to all groups and individuals, but also to restore any loss of trust in the Trending Topics feature.”