Let’s Send Facebook Some Election Observers

Facebook insists that people can trust it to manage its giant social network in a way that doesn't undermine democracy. I say verify: Let's send in an army of scientists to study its role in the upcoming 2018 elections.

There's been too little research into how Facebook influenced the last election, even though there's plenty of reason to think it did. The “I voted” button was designed to boost turnout. Search-engine rankings can affect voting preferences. Fake news was pervasive, though we still don’t know who controlled it and how much it mattered. As I’ve suggested, Facebook likely has all the data it needs to study the effect of Russian propaganda. So far, though, we haven’t heard from Facebook.