Here’s a timely piece of programming. With controversy continuing to surround Facebook, PBS America has announced plans to air Frontline’s two-part documentary The Facebook Dilemma, which explores the social media giant’s impact on privacy and democracy. The docu will premiere on PBS America on Saturday December 1st at 9pm and will concluding the following day in the same time-slot.
The two-part documentary, which has been produced as part of PBS’ current affairs documentary strand Frontline, picks up in the wake of mounting crises such as the company’s failure to protect millions of users’ data and the proliferation of “fake news” and disinformation in the U.S. and across the world. All of which have raised the question: how has Facebook’s historic success as a social network brought about real-world harm? Drawing on dozens of original interviews and rare footage, The Facebook Dilemma investigates a series of warnings to Facebook as the company grew from Mark Zuckerberg’s Harvard dorm room to a global empire.
Facebook whistleblower Sandy Parakilas, producers James Jacoby and Anya Bourg, and Pulitzer-Prize winning Washington Post reporter Dana Priest trace how the company failed to respond effectively to warnings from both inside and outside Facebook about everything from potential privacy violations, to “fake news,” to fomenting division and violence across the globe. Producers interviewed more than a dozen former and current Facebook employees on-camera for the film. The documentary finds that multiple warnings about the platform’s negative
impact on privacy and democracy were eclipsed by the company’s relentless pursuit of growth — and its users’ data.
Check out the trailer for The Facebook Dilemma below:
