Secret Facebook XCheck Program Revealed

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A picture illustration shows a Facebook logo reflected in a person's eye, in Zenica, March 13, 2015. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

A secret program that grants elite users special publishing privileges has been uncovered. On September 13th the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the Facebook XCheck or cross-check system is being used to benefit some of its high-profile users. 

The tech giant may say publicly that their rules apply to everyone, but the rich and famous are secretly exempt.

This report comes after Facebook’s Open Research and Transparency team admitted they were withholding data from researchers studying misinformation.

XCheck Program favors the elite

The platform has three billion users. And not everyone is equal. Statistics reveal that 5.8 million are in the category of entitled users. They represent an invisible elite within the social network to which the rules do not apply.

Facebook has built a system initially intended as a quality-control measure. The XCheck process is supposed to be used to allow actions against high-profile accounts. This includes celebrities, politicians, and journalists. But ironically the system shields millions of VIP users from Facebook’s normal enforcement processes.