- Tech
-
-
Tech
The gadgets, platforms, and software that make your digital life possible. if it bleeps, clicks or blinks, you’ll find it here.
-
Categories
-
-
Latest
- The simple way to connect Apple TV and HomePod Today 5:00 AM
- Did Elon Musk just host PewDiePie’s meme review? Tuesday 8:53 AM
- YouTube is fueling the rise in flat earth believers Monday 11:04 AM
- Scathing privacy report calls Facebook a ‘digital gangster’ Monday 10:50 AM
- Report: Google used shell companies to build data centers, obtain tax breaks Sunday 3:38 PM
-
-
-
- Internet Culture
-
-
Internet Culture
There’s a community for everyone online.
-
Categories
-
-
Latest
- This Kickstarter needs $4,000 to digitally erase the rat from ‘The Departed’ 5 Years Ago
- Bernie Sanders memes resurface after 2020 bid announcement Today 6:27 AM
- The ‘Well yes, but actually no’ meme is here to help you explain things Tuesday 12:07 PM
- Man stages fake DUI trial to propose to girlfriend, and people are asking why Tuesday 10:40 AM
- Did Elon Musk just host PewDiePie’s meme review? Tuesday 8:53 AM
-
-
-
- Streaming
-
-
Streaming
You’ve cut the cord—now what?
-
Categories
-
-
Latest
- How to stream ‘Survivor’ for free Today 5:30 AM
- How to watch Juventus vs. Atletico Madrid online for free Today 5:00 AM
- Netflix lines up unnecessarily good cast for ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ Tuesday 3:48 PM
- Netflix drops trailer for Mötley Crüe biopic ‘The Dirt’—and the cast is wild Tuesday 3:41 PM
- Noah Cyrus cries on Instagram after Lil Xan’s baby announcement Tuesday 2:26 PM
-
-
-
- IRL
-
-
IRL
Where your off- and online identities collide.
-
Categories
-
-
Latest
- Black man films ‘Crosswalk Cathy’ yelling racist slurs at him Tuesday 6:47 PM
- I worked with the migrant caravan—and Trump is the cause of his national emergency Tuesday 11:09 AM
- Man stages fake DUI trial to propose to girlfriend, and people are asking why Tuesday 10:40 AM
- Pose’s Indya Moore goes viral for arguing trans women have ‘biologically female’ penises Tuesday 10:21 AM
- Audrey Kitching is a Myspace queen turned energy healer. Critics say she’s also a fraud Tuesday 6:30 AM
-
-
-
- Social
-
-
Social
If it happens online, it’s here.
-
Categories
-
-
Latest
- This Kickstarter needs $4,000 to digitally erase the rat from ‘The Departed’ 5 Years Ago
- Welcome to Bernie 2020 Twitter, same as Bernie 2016 Twitter 5 Years Ago
- Bernie Sanders memes resurface after 2020 bid announcement Today 6:27 AM
- How to survive and thrive in Metro Exodus Today 6:00 AM
- How to stream ‘Survivor’ for free Today 5:30 AM
-
-
-
- Bazaar
-
-
Bazaar
The Bazaar specializes in the stuff you don’t actually need…but you really, really want.
-
Categories
-
-
Latest
- Allow your wallet to be your spirit guide during this rad anime sale Tuesday 10:43 AM
- 14 artsy cartoon mugs that’ll help make your days more creative Monday 12:15 PM
- Get your nerd on with ThinkGeek’s Funko Pop B2G1 sale Monday 3:00 AM
- Play all your NES games in high def with the Hyperkin RetroN HD Tuesday 8:39 AM
- The Introvert Activity Book is perfect for those who find solace in alone time Monday 11:30 AM
-
-
-
- More
- Search
See all Editor's Picks →
See all Popular →
Represented by Complex Media, Inc. for advertising sales.
Privacy Policy Terms & Conditions Ethics
Latest
- This Kickstarter needs $4,000 to digitally erase the rat from ‘The Departed’ 5 Years Ago
- Welcome to Bernie 2020 Twitter, same as Bernie 2016 Twitter 5 Years Ago
- Bernie Sanders memes resurface after 2020 bid announcement Today 6:27 AM
- How to survive and thrive in Metro Exodus Today 6:00 AM
- How to stream ‘Survivor’ for free Today 5:30 AM
- The simple way to connect Apple TV and HomePod Today 5:00 AM
- How to watch Juventus vs. Atletico Madrid online for free Today 5:00 AM
- Black man films ‘Crosswalk Cathy’ yelling racist slurs at him Tuesday 6:47 PM
- Guerrilla artists turn John Oliver billboard ad into right-wing meme Tuesday 4:20 PM
- Netflix lines up unnecessarily good cast for ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ Tuesday 3:48 PM
- Netflix drops trailer for Mötley Crüe biopic ‘The Dirt’—and the cast is wild Tuesday 3:41 PM
- QAnon’s repetitive posts are alienating even his most ardent supporters Tuesday 3:36 PM
- Noah Cyrus cries on Instagram after Lil Xan’s baby announcement Tuesday 2:26 PM
- The ‘Well yes, but actually no’ meme is here to help you explain things Tuesday 12:07 PM
- Judge orders Roger Stone to appear in court after his Instagram post Tuesday 11:24 AM
Facebook is boosting partisan political news

Objectivity just isn’t as shareable.
When Facebook changes its News Feed algorithm, everyone takes notice.
After all, there’s a whole lot of money riding on who can best figure out the mystery algorithm. Perhaps more than anyone else, the news media depends on a daily torrent of Facebook users sent direct to their sites from stories on the News Feed.
Many of the sites that have been most successful at figuring out Facebook’s ever-changing News Feed are partisan political sites like Glenn Beck’s The Blaze, Mother Jones, and Think Progress, a new study from NewsWhip says according to reporting from Mashable. The smaller sites have managed to challenge historical giants like USA Today largely due to their relative mastery of the News Feed.
“Few sites have capitalized on this new audience channel like these political sites,” Liam Corcoran, social media editor at NewsWhip, told Mashable. “The likes of The Blaze and Think Progress manage to challenge the likes of USA Today and NPR, despite their relatively low monthly output. Each story is carefully crafted and presented to appeal to potential readers scrolling through their News Feed.”
The algorithm that drives Facebook’s News Feed changes on at least a monthly basis and is notoriously hidden from both the users who experience it every day and the businesses who largely depend on it for readers. The opaqueness of the algorithm has led critics to wonder if even Facebook knows how it is affecting the way its 1.28 billion users get their news.
“And WTF is Facebook doing when it juices partisan sites in your news feed?,” NYU Journalism professor Jay Rosen wrote in response to the new data. “Does Facebook know? Does anyone know? Is it an accident? Is it a calculation, a miscalculation, or a non-calculation? (Twitter doesn’t “boost” anything in my timeline, as far as I know, although ads appear there.) Does Facebook know what it’s doing, deny what it’s doing or know not what it’s doing? What’s the difference between a black box and giant F-you? I sure don’t know.”
Mother Jones, a left-oriented magazine, shot up more than 700 percent in monthly Facebook interactions over the last year. Fox News and Breitbart—two distinctly right-leaning outlets—were also among the biggest social media winners of the last year.
Why? The answer may be that sharing strongly opinionated articles about news sends a clear endorsement to Facebook friends. A pro-gun article from The Blaze or a pro-choice article from Mother Jones can make for a more powerful share than what might be more even-handed but more muted articles from other outlets.
The news media king and queen of Facebook remain BuzzFeed and Huffington Post with 25 million and 32 million monthly interactions respectively.
H/T Mashable | Photo via David Shankbone/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Patrick Howell O'Neill
Patrick Howell O'Neill is a notable cybersecurity reporter whose work has focused on the dark net, national security, and law enforcement. A former senior writer at the Daily Dot, O'Neill joined CyberScoop in October 2016. I am a cybersecurity journalist at CyberScoop. I cover the security industry, national security and law enforcement.