Facebook denies being pro-Brexit, but removes pro-Brexit status option anyway

In the US, Facebook has been hit with accusations of having a anti-conservative bias in its news coverage. In the UK, the social network stands accused of being pro-Brexit in the upcoming EU referendum.

The Brexit-related accusations came about after it was noticed that Facebook offered a readymade status update proclaiming to be "in favour of leaving the EU", but didn’t have a balancing pro-remain option as easily accessible. Despite this, Facebook categorically denies any form of bias.

While it was possible to indicate a preference for remaining in the EU using Facebook's automated status suggestions, the pro-Brexit option was just a few clicks away and the pro-remain one had to be searched for.

In response to the criticism, Facebook has since removed the more prominent Brexit option which was originally noticed by Brussels-based writer, Jon Worth:

So Facebook’s iOS app allows you to express “in favour of leaving the EU” but not favour Remaining. #Brexit bias. pic.twitter.com/juaDYZUXwF

— Jon Worth (@jonworth) June 14, 2016

He said:

I cannot imagine many people actually use a Feeling/Activity so deeply buried in Facebook’s menus. But what worries me is that Facebook has added this to its app -- and this is a core function, not something user generated -- and did not stop to think about the inherent bias shown here. Once more it calls into question how neutral privately-owned social networks are when it comes to political debate.

Contacted by the Guardian, Facebook said that anyone searching for 'EU' in the status update tool would be presented with a full listed of options, but the pre-populated list of selected statuses is controlled by what other people have been using. Regardless, 'in favor of leaving the EU' seems to have vanished as a suggested status.

Photo credit: Alexey Boldin / Shutterstock