To the Editor:

Re “Facebook Doesn’t Like What It Sees in the Mirror” (Op-Ed, Jan. 17): If Facebook wants to take a more morally enlightened, responsible approach to social engagement, as Noam Cohen suggests is desirable, it can start by revising its algorithm. Facebook’s recent overhaul of its News Feed that prioritizes what family members and friends share may simply reinforce what users already believe.

A constructive step to bolster the social tolerance that underpins a robust society would be to provide users with more exposure to divergent opinions. Facebook could do this by changing its algorithm so that it increases the weight assigned to posts that provide dissonant information — messages that offer a different social viewpoint than the user holds. For example, if a user usually likes liberal posts, Facebook could configure it so that a conservative post gets prominent play in the News Feed.

By presenting an information environment with greater exposure to positions that challenge an individual’s attitudes, Facebook could increase open-mindedness, in keeping with Mark Zuckerberg’s aim of “advancing human potential.”

RICHARD M. PERLOFF, CLEVELAND

The writer is a professor of communication and political science at Cleveland State University.