Facebook is shutting down one of its most interesting experimental apps, Forecast

[zakiyatasnim]

Last week, Facebook announced that it was shutting down Forecast, an experimental mobile app that provided predictions about world events. The app was one of the company's most interesting experiments. It launched in June 2020 and will shut down on October 15, 2021.



Forecast operates in the format of a prediction market, where colombia number data users make predictions and place bets on the probability of certain events. However, instead of real money, you can “buy” and “sell” in Forecast using virtual points. Facebook is actively fighting disinformation, and this is one of its experiments aimed at making online discussions reasoned.

Forecasting platforms encourage users to translate their perceptions of the world into public predictions. This helps them overcome biases and better predict real-world events. Researchers also suggest that by combining different forecasts, these platforms can provide more accurate results than experts.

“We became interested in forecast markets because they encourage participants to think rationally,” Forecast project manager Rebecca Kosnik wrote in a blog post in October 2020.

Facebook isn’t the first company to launch an app like this, but it was a good example of whether prediction markets could work on a global scale to improve social media. The decision to shut down Forecast suggests that’s unlikely at this point.