The article, "Facebook only cares about Facebook", is an article published by The Atlantic. The article was written by Ethan Zuckerman, a director for Civic Media at MIT and an associate professor at the MIT Media Lab. The piece was made in response to certain changes made by Facebook that apparently "will likely de-prioritize stories from professional publishers, and instead favor dispatches published by a user's friend and family". The author uses a critical tone and appeals to ethos throughout the article.
Zuckerman uses a critical tone in the article. This is shown through many phrases used throughout the piece. For example, the writer states: "Facebook doesn't care. At least, it usually seems that way". This shows the writers criticisms towards Facebook, as the recent changes they have done seem to anger the writer in a way. The writer also refers Facebook as "the social giant" which shows that the author is being very specific and analytical about Facebook. Therefore, this is how the author uses a critical tone. The author appeals to ethos throughout the piece. This is apparent through the uses of many sources and quotes of other articles. For example, he quotes other articles published by The Atlantic: "Facebook’s crushing blow to independent media arrived last fall in Slovakia, Cambodia, Guatemala, and three other nations". This shows and improves the author's credibility, as he has more than likely had contact with some of the writers he quotes. Therefore, this is how the writer appeals to ethos. Zuckerman is a director that focuses on Civic Media and Media Lab. This means that he has lots of expertise and knowledge on how media works. This shows that Zuckerman has lots of ties to the topic and potentially some bias. This is shown when he talks in first person and about a software that affects how you may view Facebook: "This fall, my colleagues and I released gobo.social, a customizable news aggregator...Facebook only allows us to show you Facebook Pages...crippling [gobo.social] its functionality as a social-network aggregator". This shows the writer's bias, as it shows how this affects him personally, as it fights against a program they have worked on. The author's purpose in this article is to show what Facebook has done in terms of how news will be shown through Facebook. The writer introduces their purpose by recalling what caused the creation of this article, which was Facebook's recent actions. The author's goal is to show us what Facebook is doing, and that it is not justifiable. The writer's use of a critical tone and appeal to ethos create a weak article telling the reader about what has happened involving Facebook. This is due to the blatant bias and criticisms taking place as it heavily affects the author in their field.
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AuthorMy name is Alan Ma. I am a student at North Cobb High School, in the class 1A for AP Language and English. Archives
February 2018
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