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Article snippet: Colin Stretch, the general counsel of Facebook, appeared on Tuesday before senators who are investigating how Russia spread misinformation online during the 2016 presidential campaign. Along with Google and Twitter, Facebook has been blamed for helping Russian agents influence the outcome of the election. But the cloud over Facebook extends far beyond Russia. Critics say the company’s central role in modern communication has undermined the news business, split Americans into partisan echo chambers and “hijacked” our minds with a product designed to keep us addicted to the social network. Of course, criticism of Facebook and its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, is easy to come by; solutions aren’t as clear. We asked nine technologists, academics, politicians and journalists to propose the steps they would take to improve Facebook — as a product, a company or both. Their responses, edited slightly for length and clarity, are below. Research director at Columbia University’s Tow Center for Digital Journalism. With a recent Facebook change that algorithmically prioritizes “reactions” in the news feed over the standard “like,” the company appears to be pushing further into the realm of emotion-centered engagement. As they stand, and especially with algorithmic reinforcement, “reactions” and “likes” are like megaphones for echo chambers and news outrage. The single most important step Facebook — and its subsidiary Instagram, which I view as equally important in terms of coun... Link to the full article to read more