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They've been called the first "Social Games" — and the London Summer Olympics have made social stars out of athletes like gymnast Gabrielle Douglas, who saw her Facebook fanbase grow by nearly 4,000 percent.

Facebook's celebrity executives — Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg — were not on Capitol Hill yesterday when Congress grilled the company's top lawyer about incendiary Russian ads on the platform. Instead, they were on an earnings call with investors announcing a 79 percent jump in profits, fueled by the company's dominance in online advertising. NPR's Aarti Shahani looks at how advertising is the key to Facebook's success and how that may change following the Russian debacle.

It's known as the quiet period — the SEC-mandated time before an initial public offering when a company's top officials have to avoid anything close to hype. And with Facebook's IPO expected next week, CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his colleagues are pretty much staying mum.

Have you ever used Facebook Live? If so, share your experience. Your response could be used in an upcoming NPR story.

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One lesson: Social media plays a bigger role in bringing people to fake news sites than it does in bringing them to real news sites.

The change comes as Facebook looks to recast its public image from battered social network to tech innovator focused on building the next generation of online interaction, known as the "metaverse."

The whistleblower, Frances Haugen, asserted in an interview with 60 Minutes that Facebook repeatedly made decisions that benefited the company's own interests at the expense of protecting the public.

Beyond what it says about corporate rivalry, the fact that two tech giants are at the top of heap on the social network says a lot about its present and future.

NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Roger McNamee, a former mentor to Mark Zuckerberg and an early investor in Facebook. He believes the company threatens democracy because it has helped spread fake news.