Facebook’s Flawed Logic: We’re Safe, The Rest Of The Web Is Dangerous
November 22, 2011 
Author 
In Anil Dash has an unmissable post titled: Facebook is gaslighting the web. We can fix it. Indeed, if this description of Facebook’s latest actions is accurate, it should be cause for concern among all web content producers.
After all, Gaslighting, according to Wikipedia (emphasis mine):
Gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse in which false information is presented with the intent of making a victim doubt his or her own memory and perception. It may simply be the denial by an abuser that previous abusive incidents ever occurred, or it could be the staging of bizarre events by the abuser with the intention of disorienting the victim
The term “gaslighting” comes from the playGas Light and its film adaptations. In those works a character uses a variety of tricks, including turning the gas lamps lower than normal, to convince his spouse that she is crazy. Since then it became a colloquial expression which has now also been used in clinical and research literature.
…gaslighting can be ‘a very complex, highly structured configuration which encompasses contributions from many elements of the psychic apparatus’.
The trends Anil presents about Facebook are clear. I invite you to read the whole post linked in the first paragraph, but the one which irks me the most has to be when you’re in Facebook, click an external link and are presented with a dialog box like similar to the following:
To quote Anil’s comment about this:
What’s remarkable about this warning message is not merely that an ordinary, simple web content page is being presented as a danger to a user. No, it’s far worse:
- Facebook is warning its users about the safety of a page which incorporates Facebook’s own commenting features, meaning even web sites that embrace Facebook’s technologies can be marginalized
- Facebook is displaying this warning despite the fact that Facebook’s own systems have indexed the page and found that it incorporates their own Open Graph information.
With this action, Facebook is basically saying: Facebook = safe, the rest of the web = dangerous.
The hypocrisy is stunning considering previous data has shown Facebook attracts more phishing attacks than Google and the IRS and it is a regular story that Facebook has been hacked /spammed.
Can you imagine if every web service, content producer or email client presented you with such warnings before clicking links? You wouldn’t stand for it. But in Facebook you do, because to leave Facebook is for many to remove themselves from all their social connections.
Content producers need to stand up for themselves. Facebook’s actions communicate very clearly how they view its users: as clueless and defenseless. Although, as users are Facebook’s product, not its customer, this may not be far from the truth.
It’s not so much Facebook treating its users as cattle that bothers me. It’s more the fact that Facebook is conditioning the average user to view their network as a safe-haven and the rest of the web as a “dangerous” and “scary” place. It’s not only false, it’s harmful (and hostile) to the rest of the digital ecosystem, made up of many who openly market Facebook and their products.
My request to Facebook: work with the open web, don’t demonize it. We already have let you underneath the fabric of our sites, why make us your enemy?
Rik Haandrikman replied | Nov 22, 2011 (1 comment)
“The hypocrisy is stunning considering previous data has shown Facebook attracts more phishing attacks than Google and the IRS and it is a regular story that Facebook has been hacked /spammed.”
Isn’t this the reason that they’re telling you to be careful when entering your Facebook login info? The assumption David makes here (that Facebook is telling us that the rest of the web is dangerous) is in no way backed up by the example he uses to illustrate his opinion. They’re just telling you to make sure you’re actually on Facebook when logging in with your Facebook user info. Makes sense and David himself tells us that it’s something they should be telling their users (again: he points out they’re a regular target for phishing and/or scamming).
MSN/Live Messenger has been doing exactly the same thing for years, precisely because their users are vulnerable to phishing.
I appreciate a bit of Facebook critique as much as the next guy, but this is conjecture at it’s worst. There’s quite a lot in Anil’s post that I disagree with, but at least he made an attempt to back his opinions up with facts.
Adam Singer replied | Nov 22, 2011 (599 comments)
Thanks for your comment Rik – I still think their language / warning signal is on some level conditioning users to “stay within” Facebook and that they’re communicating “we’re safe, the web isn’t.” You certainly don’t have to agree, but I’ve gotten it on multiple occasions across devices and that’s how I’ve always felt. And sidenote: the warning message has been shown for me when simply viewing content, not necessarily entering my username / password.
Jonathan Allen replied | Nov 22, 2011 (1 comment)
Have to say I disagree with Anil’s post too. Chrome and Firefox and Google Search itself all have warnings about possible malicious sites and they often show up at inappropriate times when the target site is not an issue. It’s just good practice to warn users of possible risks, and the idea that their is some other sinister aspect to it seems far fetched.
Adam Singer replied | Nov 22, 2011 (599 comments)
Hey Jonathan – totally hear what you’re saying about other technologies having warnings – but this being an (already) walled garden is different, at least in my opinion. But thanks for the comment – please drop by here more often :)
Catherine Lockey replied | Nov 22, 2011 (63 comments)
Obviously a coercive maneuver on FB’s part. It’s gaslighting and propaganda rolled into one. If Facebook continues to attempt to control users with fear, what FB fears most will come to pass.
Benjamin Ehinger replied | Nov 22, 2011 (1 comment)
I agree with Jonathan…..I would rather be warned than not. However, you are right Adam since this is already a walled garden it is a bit different.
Ray Creations replied | Nov 24, 2011 (2 comments)
Yes, I understand this can be really frustration when to see such a warning when people are being directed to your site. It may be a standard procedure with Facebook when redirecting people from their site, but new users who are not so accustomed to the internet, can seriously get confused about their security on your site and may not follow the link.