A friend shared a link to a video on Facebook with me. The video, shown at the end of the article, is a short New York Times documentary which describes how Facebook is changing the Internet.

@aalbc you might find this interesting https://t.co/MpxM9pfTmJ

— L.A. West-Blackwood (@garveygirl) September 19, 2017

Of course I found the video interesting.  The video describes just one problem a very powerful company like Facebook creates. This is a subject I’ve observed and written about for almost a decade. I’m happy to see an entity with a platform as large and respected as The New York Times take this issue on.

I was directed to Facebook to watch this video. The Times embedded the video on Facebook. It appears The Times felt more people would view the video on Facebook than on their website, or any other place they might share it. Apparently the revenue The Times loses and that Facebook gains, as a result of giving the video to Facebook, was worth the trade off. However it also illustrates how The Times actually helps Facebook become more dominant further exacerbating the problem the video describes.

For that reason, I’ve decided to share the video here rather than send viewers to Facebook. The Times titled the video “How Facebook is Changing Your Internet.” I chose to substitute the word “Perverting.” “Changing” is a rather innocuous term, not good or bad, just different. I wanted to be clear; Facebook’s dominance is bad, really bad, for a myriad of reasons. This video does a good job in helping to explain why. If you agree, please share the information in any fashion that makes sense to you.

The following information was obtained from The New York Times.  

Facebook Faces a New World as Officials Rein In a Wild Web
By Paul Mozur, Mark Scott, and Mike Isaac, Sept. 17, 2017