Media

Facebook features 9/11 conspiracy theory as ‘trending’

by Joe Concha - 09/09/16 2:44 PM ET

Facebook is taking heat yet again for its Trending Topics section after featuring a story from a British tabloid pushing a conspiracy theory that the World Trade Center collapsed on Sept. 11, 2001, because of a “controlled demolition.”

{mosads}Facebook users who clicked on the “September 11th Anniversary” trending topic Friday were presented an article titled “September 11: The footage that ‘proves bombs were planted in Twin Towers.’” The article was published in a tabloid called The Daily Star.

The story quotes unnamed engineers supporting the conspiracy theory that “bombs were planted in Twin Towers.”

The article has since disappeared from Facebook’s page for the topic.

You're right, Facebook. Computers can TOTALLY do a better job than journalists. #FacebookTrending pic.twitter.com/iPcQfvXdAN

— Isabelle Chapman (@Isa_Chapman) September 9, 2016

The gaffe comes one month after Facebook fired human editors from its Trending team, relying instead on computer algorithms to post trending stories to the social media site.

Facebook currently has more than 1.7 billion users worldwide.

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