In a blog post, the social media network explained that these changes would include the elimination of a top-ten list of approved websites, more training and clearer guidelines to help human editors avoid ideological or political bias, and more robust review procedures.
"...suppressing political content or preventing people from seeing what matters most to them is directly contrary to our mission and our business objectives and the allegations troubled us deeply," Colin Stretch, Facebook general counsel, wrote in the post.
"We are proud of the platform and community we have created, and it is important to us that Facebook continues to be a platform for all ideas."
Christopher White is the Director of CatholicVoices USA, an organization that provides media training for Catholics through workshops, trainings, and media consulting.
White said the he had not personally experienced or noticed a liberal or political bias on Facebook, and said that he would remind Catholics that social media is still one of the best ways to engage in the New Evangelization.
"Just think about Pope Francis, who is the most popular figure on Twitter and Instagram," White said.
"Those aren't just press plays, they're actual message-sharing devices, and I think that's something that we can celebrate. As Catholics we can use these platforms as a means to witness and to share what is and should be the joy that we have as Catholics," he said.
The media can also play an important role by holding the Church accountable, White noted, such as in the case of the sex abuse scandal uncovered by reporters from The Boston Globe.
"One of the things that many commentators were quick to say (after the sex abuse scandal) is that the media did the Church a great service, and so there are times in which the media is really an ally for us, and they have a right to keep us accountable," White said.
However, White added, Catholics also have a duty to speak up when the Church is inaccurately or falsely misrepresented, and the media has a duty to remain an open marketplace of ideas.
"These (social networks) are, in a sense, marketplaces in a sense for an exchange of ideas," he said. "And no one should be targeted – conservative, progressive, Christian or secular – no individual group should be targeted."
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