Facebook

When Mark Zuckerberg started “thefacebook.com” in his Harvard dorm room back in 2004, he never imagined how mind-blowingly massive it would become. With somewhere around 1.8 billion users worldwide, it is far and away the most widely used social network on the planet, and with no emerging competitors in sight, it seems likely to stay that way. In many ways, Facebook has become an integral part of our lives. We rely on it for information, entertainment, self-expression, and staying connected with friends and family. It has, for better or worse, fundamentally changed the way we engage in political discourse, and consume news. So much so that the site is now experimenting with a “fake news” filter after facing increasing criticism for allowing false information disguised as news to circulate on the site unchecked—which some believe may have impacted the results of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. And it’s not the first time Facebook has faced controversy. In fact, just days after Zuckerberg launched the original site, he was embroiled in a dispute with the famous Winklevoss twins, which ended in a settlement now worth over $300 million. Facebook also made headlines in 2014 when it added more than 50 custom gender options for users who don't identify as "male" or "female." And again just last year when it joined other members of the tech community in publicly opposing North Carolina’s discriminatory House Bill 2. It’s been hailed as one of the most important inventions of our generation, it’s been called a "dust cloud of nonsense" by President Obama, and a “huge waste of time” by Betty White. But, love it or hate it, Facebook is here to stay. Find some of our favorite Facebook headlines below: