SoylentNews

Appalbarry [soylentnews.org] writes:

CBC Television has just issued an apology of sorts, [soylentnews.org] explaining that an obscene headline that appeared above one their stories when posted on Facebook wasn't what the Canadian broadcaster had written.

Over the weekend, CBC News was the subject of a widespread Facebook hoax. A story on the CBC News website about Conservative Leader Stephen Harper's visit to Newfoundland and Labrador appeared in the news feeds of many Canadians accompanied by a vulgar headline. ... When users clicked the fake Facebook headline, they were directed to an authentic CBC News story with the headline "Stephen Harper faces little warmth in Newfoundland."

So how did the headline end up on Facebook? ... Facebook allows users to change both the headline and summary text accompanying a story and post it to his or her wall. Friends can then share the story with the altered headline.

It's not just edited headlines that can damage a company’s reputation. Last month a relative of mine began posting some seriously racist "jokes" to his Facebook feed. Those images wound up landing above and beside advertisements for major retailers and some of our largest banks.

Even if you assume that most people will understand that the advertiser has nothing to do with the content beside their ad, it's still likely that it somehow damages your corporate image to be associated with such dreck.

Are we heading for a day when major advertisers will start insisting that social media companies insulate them from offensive content? Or do they just not care any more?

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