German chancellor Angela Merkel accused Facebook of “distorting perceptions” towards her migrant policy and has demanded to see the algorithms used by social media companies.
“The algorithms must be made public, so that one can inform oneself as an interested citizen on questions like: what influences my behavior on the internet and that of others?, said Merkel at a press conference in Berlin earlier this week.
“These algorithms, when they are not transparent, can lead to a distortion of our perception, and narrow our breadth of information,” she claimed .
It is not the first time that Merkel has blamed social media for criticism of her policies, saying that the success of the anti-Islam AfD (Alternative für Deutchsland) was a result of the successful “spread of their lies via social media.”
Her remarks came after her party received their worst ever results in regional elections in Berlin last month.
Merkel’s claims are particularly ironic given her meeting earlier this year with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who agreed to her demands to help censor criticism of her migrant policy across the network.
You can follow Ben Kew on Facebook, on Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart.com
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