Oh, &quot;manipulated&quot;. In no worse way than I&#x27;m manipulating you now by writing a hasty, little aggressively-toned response. Reading this comment will probably shift your mood a tiny percent down. Should I call my university&#x27;s ethics board to ask if I can post this comment?<p>The whole &quot;Facebook manipulating emotions&quot; fiasco is one of the most ridiculous things I&#x27;ve seen happening in the field of social sciences in front of my own eyes. And it illustrates a very dangerous thing about science reporting - hyperbolizing. Almost nobody reads the primary sources (like actual papers), so when a journalist starts using strong words like &quot;manipulated&quot;, it colors people&#x27;s interpretations of the issue, leading them to severly overestimating the meaning of the issue - lo and behold, you can create a shitstorm out of thin air.<p>The way press was describing Facebook&#x27;s &quot;manipulating users&#x27; emotions&quot; is akin to describing sneezing as an act of biological warfare. <i>Scope matters</i>.