Buzzfeed: 'Facebook is To Blame For French Riots' - Not Macron's Tax Hikes
The site points towards the tech giants algorithm that help start the riots
© press
Left-leaning social sharing site Buzzfeed believes Facebook’s new algorithm is responsible for encouraging anti-Macron protests across France.
The site published an article that points towards the tech giant's News Feed, which Buzzfeed says provoked France’s working class into rioting, and not the crippling fuel tax hikes by President Emmanuel Macron’s climate agenda.
Buzzfeed writer Ryan Broderick claimed the French "Yellow Vest" movement “is a beast born almost entirely from Facebook.”
The article seems to place Macron’s massive carbon taxes as 'secondary' in the blame game.
© press
[RELATED] Macron's Approval Rating Hits Lowest Of his Presidency Following Protests
Broderick then claims that development enabled so-called “Anger Groups” to increase viral messages on the social media platform, creating a climate of fear.
He then claimed the groups grew more substantial due to a recent Facebook algorithm change that gave preference local news over published pages
“Due to the way algorithm changes made earlier this year interacted with the fierce devotion in France to local and regional identity, the country is now facing some of the worst riots in many years — and in Paris, the worst in half a century,” he argued.
Broderick then cites a petition launched in May by French citizen Priscilla Ludosky which helped it gain traction.
Ludosky petition most likely stems from the anger of having to pay $170 per month on fuel to travel into Paris for business.
© press
Ludosky’s petition on Change.org had just under 1,500 subscribers before a local radio station gave it air time.
The radio appearance was written up by a news site before being shared on a Facebook page.
The algorithm change provided a petition to dominate the conversation in a small town, Broderick claims.
The petition ended up with more than 800,000 signatures between May and November.
Ludosky’s petition now has over 1 Million signatures.
“I think it’s important to acknowledge Facebook’s role here. A national movement was able to mobilize in massive numbers in 10 days,” he said.
Following weeks of chaos, the French Government has announced it will delay it's "climate tax" on fossil fuels
France's leader is accused of using Climate Change fears to usher in taxes on gas and diesel that hurt hard-working everyday people instead of the already-wealthy.
Sounds like Facebook's fault?
We don't think so.
