Ideas change everything

Dear Facebook, this is how you're breaking democracy

1,996,563 plays|

Yaël Eisenstat |

TED2020

• August 2020

"Lies are more engaging online than truth," says former CIA analyst, diplomat and Facebook employee Yaël Eisenstat. "As long as [social media] algorithms' goals are to keep us engaged, they will feed us the poison that plays to our worst instincts and human weaknesses." In this bold talk, Eisenstat explores how social media companies like Facebook incentivize inflammatory content, contributing to a culture of political polarization and mistrust -- and calls on governments to hold these platforms accountable in order to protect civil discourse and democracy.

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

"Lies are more engaging online than truth," says former CIA analyst, diplomat and Facebook employee Yaël Eisenstat. "As long as [social media] algorithms' goals are to keep us engaged, they will feed us the poison that plays to our worst instincts and human weaknesses." In this bold talk, Eisenstat explores how social media companies like Facebook incentivize inflammatory content, contributing to a culture of political polarization and mistrust -- and calls on governments to hold these platforms accountable in order to protect civil discourse and democracy.

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

This talk was presented at an official TED conference.

Read our curation guidelines.

About the speaker

Yaël Eisenstat

Democracy activist

See speaker profile

After years spent as a CIA analyst, diplomat and national security advisor at the White House, Yaël Eisenstat began to view the breakdown of civil discourse as the biggest threat to US democracy.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference.

Read our curation guidelines.