SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
"Americans have been playing close attention to story after story involving Facebook's failure to protect our elections from foreign interference, and now its failure to protect our personal data," says Factual Democracy Project founder Melissa Ryan. (Photo: sue seecof/flickr/cc)
Poll Shows Facebook Popularity Tanking. And People Don't Like Zuckerberg Much Either
New poll shows continued fallout from voter profiling firm Cambridge Analytica's harvesting of personal information of over 50 million Facebook users
Mar 30, 2018
The Cambridge Analytica scandal appears to have taken a toll on public opinion of Facebook, as a new poll shows that love for the social media site has tanked in recent weeks.
The new survey (pdf) of 577 registered voters conducted by Public Policy Polling for the Factual Democracy Project (FDP) took place March 23-25--right after the public learned of the massive data breach.
Sixty-seven percent of those surveyed, it should be noted, said they have a Facebook account.
Thirty percent of respondents said they have a favorable opinion of Facebook compared to 48 percent who have an unfavorable opinion about it. Twenty-two percent, meanwhile, said they are not sure.
That adds up to a net favorability rating of -18--a drop of 19 points since September (pdf) when FDP last polled for that information. At that time, 37 percent said they had a favorable opinion, and 36 percent said their opinion was unfavorable.
As for Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, just 24 percent expressed a favorable opinion about him, while 35 percent had an unfavorable opinion. Forty-one percent said they are not sure.
Like Zuckerberg, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg had a net favorability rating of -11; ten percent said they have a favorable opinion of her and 21 percent had an unfavorable one. The majority--69 percent--said they are not sure of their opinion of her.
The poll also shows that majority--58 percent--had heard about Cambridge Analytica's unauthorized harvesting of some 50 million Facebook users' data, and an even greater percentage--71 percent--think Zuckerberg should have to appear before Congress to explain how that massive breach was able to occur.
Based on what they now know, just 12 percent say they're going to delete their account, and 36 percent said they'll use Facebook less.
"We are watching a historic moment of reckoning unfold in real time," said FDP founder Melissa Ryan. "Americans have been playing close attention to story after story involving Facebook's failure to protect our elections from foreign interference, and now its failure to protect our personal data."
"The stakes for Mark Zuckerberg's testimony are clear from the polling data. If he wants to turn things around at Facebook, it will start in the halls of Congress," Ryan said.
Zuckerberg has been facing calls to testify before Congress, and, according to media reports this week, is expected to do so.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
The Cambridge Analytica scandal appears to have taken a toll on public opinion of Facebook, as a new poll shows that love for the social media site has tanked in recent weeks.
The new survey (pdf) of 577 registered voters conducted by Public Policy Polling for the Factual Democracy Project (FDP) took place March 23-25--right after the public learned of the massive data breach.
Sixty-seven percent of those surveyed, it should be noted, said they have a Facebook account.
Thirty percent of respondents said they have a favorable opinion of Facebook compared to 48 percent who have an unfavorable opinion about it. Twenty-two percent, meanwhile, said they are not sure.
That adds up to a net favorability rating of -18--a drop of 19 points since September (pdf) when FDP last polled for that information. At that time, 37 percent said they had a favorable opinion, and 36 percent said their opinion was unfavorable.
As for Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, just 24 percent expressed a favorable opinion about him, while 35 percent had an unfavorable opinion. Forty-one percent said they are not sure.
Like Zuckerberg, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg had a net favorability rating of -11; ten percent said they have a favorable opinion of her and 21 percent had an unfavorable one. The majority--69 percent--said they are not sure of their opinion of her.
The poll also shows that majority--58 percent--had heard about Cambridge Analytica's unauthorized harvesting of some 50 million Facebook users' data, and an even greater percentage--71 percent--think Zuckerberg should have to appear before Congress to explain how that massive breach was able to occur.
Based on what they now know, just 12 percent say they're going to delete their account, and 36 percent said they'll use Facebook less.
"We are watching a historic moment of reckoning unfold in real time," said FDP founder Melissa Ryan. "Americans have been playing close attention to story after story involving Facebook's failure to protect our elections from foreign interference, and now its failure to protect our personal data."
"The stakes for Mark Zuckerberg's testimony are clear from the polling data. If he wants to turn things around at Facebook, it will start in the halls of Congress," Ryan said.
Zuckerberg has been facing calls to testify before Congress, and, according to media reports this week, is expected to do so.
The Cambridge Analytica scandal appears to have taken a toll on public opinion of Facebook, as a new poll shows that love for the social media site has tanked in recent weeks.
The new survey (pdf) of 577 registered voters conducted by Public Policy Polling for the Factual Democracy Project (FDP) took place March 23-25--right after the public learned of the massive data breach.
Sixty-seven percent of those surveyed, it should be noted, said they have a Facebook account.
Thirty percent of respondents said they have a favorable opinion of Facebook compared to 48 percent who have an unfavorable opinion about it. Twenty-two percent, meanwhile, said they are not sure.
That adds up to a net favorability rating of -18--a drop of 19 points since September (pdf) when FDP last polled for that information. At that time, 37 percent said they had a favorable opinion, and 36 percent said their opinion was unfavorable.
As for Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, just 24 percent expressed a favorable opinion about him, while 35 percent had an unfavorable opinion. Forty-one percent said they are not sure.
Like Zuckerberg, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg had a net favorability rating of -11; ten percent said they have a favorable opinion of her and 21 percent had an unfavorable one. The majority--69 percent--said they are not sure of their opinion of her.
The poll also shows that majority--58 percent--had heard about Cambridge Analytica's unauthorized harvesting of some 50 million Facebook users' data, and an even greater percentage--71 percent--think Zuckerberg should have to appear before Congress to explain how that massive breach was able to occur.
Based on what they now know, just 12 percent say they're going to delete their account, and 36 percent said they'll use Facebook less.
"We are watching a historic moment of reckoning unfold in real time," said FDP founder Melissa Ryan. "Americans have been playing close attention to story after story involving Facebook's failure to protect our elections from foreign interference, and now its failure to protect our personal data."
"The stakes for Mark Zuckerberg's testimony are clear from the polling data. If he wants to turn things around at Facebook, it will start in the halls of Congress," Ryan said.
Zuckerberg has been facing calls to testify before Congress, and, according to media reports this week, is expected to do so.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.