By Barry Eitel
SAN FRANCISCO (AA) – The Federal Reserve announced Thursday that it has joined Facebook in an attempt to better connect with the general public.
Users can now “Like” the page officially operated by the central bank and receive updates on interest rates and other economic matters.
In a press release, the Fed claimed the Facebook page was made “with the aim of increasing the accessibility and availability of Federal Reserve Board news and educational content.”
The Fed is already a member of several platforms including Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and LinkedIn. Facebook, with 1.7 billion users around the globe, is by far the largest social platform the Fed is using. However, the Federal Reserve Board, which operates the Fed, claimed that its official website will still be the primary outlet for information and some selected announcements will be posted to the Facebook page.
“Posts will include press releases, speeches, testimony, reports, educational materials, frequently asked questions, photos and videos,” the Fed continued.
Although many economists believe actions taken by the Fed helped the U.S. recover from the 2008 recession, the institution remains largely unpopular among Americans. A Gallup poll in 2014 found 35 percent of respondents disapproved of then Fed chairman Ben Bernanke.
It appears that many Americans do not know much about the bank. A Pew Research poll taken soon after current chair Janet Yellen took over from Bernanke found that more than 75 percent of Americans could not pick her out from a list of four.
Like any large organization on social media, the Fed received a flurry of critical comments soon after it began posting on Facebook, including calls for audits and a return to the gold standard.
