Facebook: Aspirational Government?

Plowing through one PR crisis after another, could its long term goals not be purely financial gain?

Is it far-fetched to speculate that Facebook’s long term goal may entail becoming more than a mere place to sell ads to people, but actually a global powerhouse for mass manipulation of ideologies, perceptions and beliefs? Some might argue that it is already the case, but I want to further explore this thought.

First, the response Facebook has regarding the perceived negative impact of its actions (and inactions) makes me wonder to what extend the company cares for maximizing its profits, at least on the long term. The ongoing ad boycott is nothing but a minor dent in the company’s ever increasing revenue (more on that later).

Secondly, the company knows it has the world’s most sought after digital advertising channel, where small/medium are unable to avoid it to reach their audiences. This gives the company a phenomenally powerful dominant position.

Lastly, it’s worth mentioning that the level of control the CEO has, coupled with the lack of actual oversight over a company with such a global impact on our lives is astonishing. Mark Zuckerberg is the chairman of the board of directors and controls 60% of the voting shares¹, giving him full…