Facebook and Our Fake News Problem

• The 2016 election season generated many headlines, some of which are
notable for being blatantly false. Fake news ranged from, “the Pope
endorsed Donald Trump” all the way to “Hilary Clinton is running a child
sex ring out of a pizza shop.”
• Did “fake news” influence the outcome of the 2016 US Presidential
election? While the answer is unclear, one thing is certain.
• The increase in fake news has several sources. Social media platforms like
Facebook gave these stories the same visibility as news publications, such
as those from the New York Times or Wall Street Journal. Moreover, these
posts often had higher engagement rates (comments and reactions)
resulting in them receiving even higher visibility and prevalence in users’
news feeds.
Facebook and Our Fake News Problem
• Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg
initially downplayed the
problem, calling it a “pretty crazy
idea” that fake news on
Facebook influenced the
election. Zuckerberg has since
begun to address the fake news
issue, but warns, “We must
proceed very carefully… and
must be extremely cautious
about becoming arbiters of truth
ourselves.”
Facebook and Our Fake News Problem
• The Society of Professional
Journalists has a code of ethics
with four principles:
seek truth and report it;
minimize harm;
act independently;
and be accountable and
transparent.
• Google and Facebook control 80
percent of ad revenues; the
same revenue source that news
publishers depend on.
Moreover, more than 40 percent
of people now get their news
from social media networks –
making Facebook a de facto
middleman in people’s intake of
news.
The CEO of Starbucks and the Practice of
Ethical Leadership
• One year after becoming CEO of
Starbucks, Kevin Johnson faced a
leadership test when two black
men were arrested in a
Philadelphia Starbucks.
• Another patron at
Starbucks recorded the arrest on Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson (AP
her cell phone, and it quickly Photo/Richard Drew)
went viral.
The CEO of Starbucks and the Practice of
Ethical Leadership
• The general public and those who witnessed the arrest labeled it as
discriminatory and racist.
• In his apology statement and follow up video release shortly after the
arrests, Johnson said, “The video shot by customers is very hard to
watch and the actions in it are not representative of our
Starbucks Mission and Values. Creating an environment that is both
safe and welcoming for everyone is paramount for every
store. Regretfully, our practices and training led to a bad outcome—
the basis for the call to the Philadelphia police department was
wrong.”
The CEO of Starbucks and the Practice of
Ethical Leadership
• “both safe and welcoming for everyone.”
• After issuing his apology, Johnson went to Philadelphia and met with
the two men face to face to involve them in dialogue on what
Starbucks needed to do differently.
The CEO of Starbucks and the Practice of
Ethical Leadership
Ann Skeet, senior director of Leadership Ethics at the Markkula Center
for Applied Ethics, has created a Practice of Ethical Leadership. Using
this model, we can ask the overall question: How is Johnson practicing
ethical leadership?
1. Creating Community: Did Johnson use Starbucks’ shared values as
the cornerstone of his decision making after the arrests? Did his
decision to close all Starbucks stores for unconscious bias training and
to create a new “Third Space Policy” align with Starbucks’ mission and
goals? Did his handling of the incident promote positive relationships
between employees and customers? Did it encourage a sense of
connectedness and shared values?
The CEO of Starbucks and the Practice of
Ethical Leadership
2. Encouraging Ethical Conduct: Did Johnson openly acknowledge that
his decision was based in ethics and morality? Did his apology and
actions promote awareness of an ethical issue? Did it create a positive
or negative difference in the communities Starbucks serves? Did it make
a positive or negative difference for Starbucks employees and
customers?
3. Showing Discipline in One’s Role: Does Johnson explicitly accept
responsibility for the incident and provide direction for a course
correction? Does he identify ways to collaborate with others when
necessary? Does he show he understands what his role is in fixing this
problem?
The CEO of Starbucks and the Practice of
Ethical Leadership
4. Clarifying Culture: Did Johnson clarify his values and the company’s
values in his apology and with his subsequent actions? Did Johnson’s
apology and follow-up actions uphold Starbucks’ mission and core
values? Did he identify gaps between stated and actual values? Did
Johnson’s apology help Starbucks employees figure out if their personal
values align with the company’s?
5. Designing Ethical Systems: Did Johnson’s actions have impact beyond
Starbucks? Did they sent a precedent for other companies to follow?
Did his apology create a conversation about unconscious bias in the
workplace? How do his apology and the subsequent follow-up actions
compare to other companies and CEOs that have faced similar
problems?