trellyz
trellyz
Sep 1, 2018 · 4 min read

Beyond standing up to the bully in chief and representing the value of the 4th estate, the giant tech firms need to get their own houses in order. The very mechanisms that enable them to sell advertising are in large part creating the problem. “Likes” and “followers” and “ratings” are engineered to increase engagement and that means to sell advertising. They have given these tools to everyone, and as our twitterer in chief has so well demonstrated, these tools can be abused. In a way they were meant to be abused. Like farms, troll farms — pretty much the same thing. Russian bots.

Last week I had the honor of being featured by the US App Store in a Meet the Developer piece about an app I created — RefAid. This app helps refugees find the services nearest them provided by trusted aid organizations. It was my passion project, something I paid for and supported with the technology my company developed for something else. It is being used in 22 countries by 5,000 aid organizations, including all of the largest: UNHCR, Red Cross, Medecins sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) and on and on.

So when Apple contacted me to say they wanted to feature my app, to feature me, I was blown away. Since my company has been funding this humanitarian app we have been limited in how many people we can reach — we have no marketing budget. I knew that many, most refugees probably use Android phone (yes almost all have smart phones because it is the only way to stay in touch with their families back home), I thought the exposure would be great for RefAid and would likely attract more NGOs and aid organizations.

On Augusts 23 the Apple App Store (US) feature appeared on the Today Tab. Out of 2.1 million apps available on the App Store only a few dozen “Meet the Developer” features have been produced since their new format started 11 months ago.

This is the first time a social impact app has been featured — big news for social impact apps.

Good news, bad news. The bad news was that as soon as the story appeared at the top of the App Store the trolls began attacking the app with poor ratings and violent, anti-immigration commentary.

“I think this developer should have one of her love ones killed by a “Refugee”. See how good she would feel by someone giving their murderer help in breaking the law & killing them or their loved ones.”

“Now people can use this to know what no-go zones to stay away from so they don’t get raped or attacked with acid!”

“This lady need to be in jail!!!”

There were dozens like that. Finally after reporting then the App Store removed most of them — a week later. That meant that all truly interested people were met with a barrage of comments that you would not want your teenager to be exposed to. Not to mention the fact I felt a little like someone had declared the equivalent of jihad on me!

In a week where I should have been using this momentum to further the purely humanitarian goals of my app I was reporting violent comments and battling trolls. Our 5 star rating in the US fell from 5 to 2, and has now inched back up to 2.5. The good news for our app and the people we serve has turned sour. Some of the trolls were tricky — they wrote comments to accompany their 1 star rating like “The app doesn’t work.” Of course it works. It has been used for 2 1/2 years with no problem. But they know that Apple won’t remove a comment like that. And Apple will not remove all of the 1 star ratings that were given without comments.

So not only do tech giants need to stand up for the importance of real news. They need to get their own house in order. I am a strong proponent of American free speech. It is so much stronger than the right of free speech everywhere else. But I believe the tech giants who benefit so much from these tools they have created, that can ruin lives, can manipulate elections need to look at how they can moderate the use of these tools.

Like a democracy, ratings only work when everyone votes. And it is often the ignorant and angry who shout the loudest and make their voices heard. Wikipedia has figured out a way to monitor what is written. This does not require rocket science. It does however, require a moral high ground. My RefAid app was the first social impact app to be featured by the App Store. I should be happy. But the trolls are winning. And the App Store is so much more difficult to infiltrate because the users need to be real people, not bots. It is time for tech companies to grow a conscience. Or we will be left in a dictatorship where even they have lost all of their rights.

    trellyz

    Written by

    trellyz

    helping nonprofits and local government deliver public and community services