Facebook, Inc.: Curating Moods in a Newsfeed Experiment

Authors
Hernandez, J., Weber, M., Ferguson, K., O'Rourke, J. S. (editor)
Region
North America
Topic
Strategy & General Management
Ethics & Social Justice
Length
8 pages
Keywords
crisis management
customer communication
customer relations
ethics
social media
Technology
Copyright Holder
Notre Dame
Student Price
$4.00
Target Audience
Graduate Students
Undergraduate Students

In 2014, the National Academy of Sciences published a study about an emotional contagion experiment that Facebook conducted on almost 700,000 of its members. Unbeknownst to test subjects, Facebook manipulated the newsfeeds certain members received and studied their reactions. This led to media coverage that called into question Facebook's ethics and corporate procedures. This case examines media and network user backlash to the experiment, and looks at Facebook’s policy on behavioral studies.

Learning Outcomes
  1. To exhibit how cultural norms bring about optimal strategies for crisis communication management.
  2. To demonstrate how psychological experimentation for the sake of higher learning can challenge corporate social responsibility.
  3. To describe how the manipulation of private information affects company reputation.
  4. To assist readers in beginning a discussion about the level of responsibility Internet companies may have to protect users’ privacy rights.