Facebook tries to distract us from its problems with shiny things

Although CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged it’s been an “intense year” for the company, he didn’t shy away from announcing a slew of new features at its F8 developer conference on Tuesday. Facebook’s 2018, month by month: January: An algorithm change that affected major publishers February: The first ever drop in daily active users March: The Cambridge Analytica scandal began April: Zuckerberg testified before both houses of Congress What Zuck said at F8: The company will begin allowing you to clear your Facebook history similar to how you clear your internet browsing history. The $199 Oculus Go VR headset is now available to the public. Facebook will be launching an opt-in dating service. What he didn’t say: “Sorry.” Zuckerberg was not there to apologize and didn’t try to hide it. While this might be off-putting to some, he is likely trying to move focus away from the self-imposed bad news cloud that has hung over the organization so far this year. Check out our own Rachel Metz’s full take here. Yet more Facebook news: —Facebook’s head of VR admitted there is not much to do in its social VR app yet. —A few hours before Zuckerberg’s keynote, the platform began asking users if every post was hate speech. —Zuck was issued an ultimatum by the UK parliament.