In Backlash Over Facebook Research, Scientists Risk Loss of Valuable Resource

By Paul Voosen. It was a remarkable result: By manipulating the news feeds of thousands of Facebook users, without their knowing consent, researchers working with the goliath of social media found that they could spur a significant, if small, effect on people’s behavior in the world beyond bits.
The year was 2010. The scientists were poking at voting patterns in the U.S. midterm elections. And when the results came out two years later, in Nature, there was barely a peep about questionable ethics. More...