Former Facebook executive, who has banned his own children from the site, says social media is ripping society apart

A former Facebook executive has spoken out against the social network he helped to create, saying it is 'ripping society apart'.

The comments were made by Chamath Palihapitiya, who joined Facebook in 2007 and became its vice president for user growth.

He says he feels 'tremendous guilt' for the influence Facebook has had and its ability to manipulate users, suggesting users take a break from using social media altogether.

The venture capitalist, who has banned his own three young children from the site, took particular aim at the ways people communicate via social media, including hearts, likes, and the thumbs-up.




A former Facebook executive has spoken out against the social network he helped to create, saying it is 'ripping society apart'. The comments were made by Chamath Palihapitiya, who joined Facebook in 2007 and became its vice president for user growth

Mr Palihapitiya believes this has the power to boost the spread of misinformation and allow people with nefarious intentions to manipulate users.

He cited an incident in India where hoax messages about kidnappings shared on WhatsApp led to the lynching of seven innocent people, according to reports in The Verge.

During his talk, Mr Palihapitiya called out not only Facebook, but Silicon Valley’s entire system of funding.

He claimed money pumped into the region would be better spent addressing problems like climate change and disease.


Credit to Dailymail.co.uk
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