A report published recently by The Australian claims the newspaper obtained a confidential research paper indicating Facebook uses algorithms which allow advertisers to target emotionally vulnerable users.

The document, which was not published by the newspaper, allegedly shows that by monitoring posts and comments Facebook can identify when users as young as fourteen are feeling ‘stressed’, ‘defeated’ and even ‘useless’.

However, a spokesperson on Facebook Newsroom stated the report is misleading. Analysis was indeed undertaken by an Australian researcher, but was, “intended to help marketers understand how people express themselves on Facebook”. The update also claims data was anonymous and aggregated.

This is not the first time the social network’s ethical conduct has been called into question. In 2014 almost 700,000 users became unwitting participants in a week-long study in emotional manipulation. The mass-experiment set out to find if the content in users’ news feeds had an impact on their emotional states.

Facebook has also faced criticism after it was discovered the organisation was enabling marketing based on users’ ethnicity, leading to concerns of discriminatory advertising. The site subsequently ended ethnicity-based targeting for housing, employment and credit-related adverts.

The Facebook Newsroom statement also claims the organisation has an ‘established process’ to review any research performed, which this particular study did not follow. An internal investigation had been launched.