How Powerful is Facebook's Algorithm?
What does Facebook’s computer code do with the data we give it – and what could it do in the future?
There is a place on the internet where almost two billion of us regularly go – many of us, every day. Facebook: the social network which Mark Zuckerberg started in his university dorm room and which has grown, in a little over a decade, into one of the most valuable companies in the world. But what does Facebook’s lines of computer code do with the data we give it – and what could it do in the future? Just how powerful is Facebook's algorithm? The answer will surprise you.
Producers: Estelle Doyle and Sarah Shebbeare
Editor: Richard Knight
(Photo: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivers a keynote address during the Facebook f8 conference in San Francisco, California. Credit: Getty Images)
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“There is no way of tracking political messages on Facebook”
Duration: 01:42
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- Thu 20 Apr 201701:06GMTBBC World Service except News Internet
- Thu 20 Apr 201706:06GMTBBC World Service Australasia, East and Southern Africa & East Asia only
- Thu 20 Apr 201707:06GMTBBC World Service Europe and the Middle East
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- Sat 22 Apr 201723:06GMTBBC World Service except News Internet
- Mon 24 Apr 201703:06GMTBBC World Service Australasia
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