On Wednesday, Facebook posted a report for the most viewed content in the US in the last quarter. It was the first time the largest social network published such a thing.
However, according to the New York Times, Facebook was preparing a similar report for the first quarter of 2021 but chose not to disclose it, as it could have a negative impact on the company.
The New York Times, who have one copy of this publication, they report that the link with the most views in the first quarter had as a headline something that could trigger hesitancy about the COVID-19 vaccination.
In particular, it was a viral publication of the largest social network with the title: "Cphysician died two weeks after being vaccinated against COVID-19. The CDC is investigating why."
The article was published by the South Florida Sun Sentinel and republished by the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times reports.
Facebook was preparing to release this report, but executives like Alex Schultz, CMO and VP analysisof Facebook apparently thought it would "cause public relations problems," according to internal emails, and ultimately decided not to publish it, the New York Times reports.
It was a full week for Facebook. In addition to publishing the report with the top publications of the quarter, it also had to deal with an amended antitrust complaint filed against the company by the Federal Trade Commission.
