#5: Social Media Misinformation
This post, instead of comparing two news outlets to each other, I want to show the effect social media can have on politics. In the last 15 years, social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter have played an increasing role in the political world. Although outlets like Fox, CNN, and more mess up at times, they are less likely to air conspiracy or outright wrong information due to the large machines of fact checkers and researchers on the clock.
Judging by my last posts, that is not to say that they never get it wrong. They definitely do.
However, social media allows misinformation or outright lies to spread much more rapidly and unchecked than news media does. Facebook posts can easily be shared hundreds of thousands of times within minutes. In this post, I am going to go over some examples.
This Facebook post depicted tanks and heavy weaponry being utilized in some war like setting. The caption claimed that United States tanks were in use by the Ukrainian military. The video received 80,000 views in only a few days.
Comments on the post state:
THE FALL OF AMERICA IS NEAR, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BELIEVE OR NOT, ARGUE OR INSULT. THE TRUTH SHALL COME TO PASS, THE EYE
THAT SEES THE FUTURE.
Except they are lying. Enjoy the lies while they last. Soon enough reality will set in and we’ll get even more lies explaining why what they say then is not a lie
Little to no comments on the post point out that it is not accurate.
This Instagram post showed a woman stating that the New York PD was handing out work permits to undocumented immigrants and giving them jobs as policemen. Despite Instagram adding a disclaimer for false information, the post received 14,000 likes in a few days.
Comments on the post state:
Blow it out of your ass “Fact checkers”. Bunch of douche bags
The U.S. has fallen. There is no country anymore. Biden and his handlers only care bout cheap labor and to fatten they own pockets. America is lost. Smh
These misinformed viral posts only add to the divide in this country and the expansion of conspiratorial thinking. While its great that some sites have started to add in built in fact checking systems to address the issue, its clear that its not stopping people from believing what they want to.
The spread of misinformation across social media platforms is now more dangerous then ever. Especially regarding the war with Ukraine and Russia. It is partially the social media platforms fault because regulation of, what i would assume would be millions of posts, is quite difficult to make sure everyone was factual.
ReplyDeleteI agree that social media is difficult to regulate posts without people feeling restricted or censored. It is because of that, where misinformation becomes a worse problem as time goes on. Also, people are going to believe what they want to believe, regardless of fact checks. Hopefully, there will be a time where we can clearly identify and prevent misinformation spread, especially in times like these.
ReplyDeleteI think that the algorithmic nature of social media has made it more prone to echo chambers, and subsequently leave people with a warped sense of how the world acts and thinks. If 100% of your online surroundings exemplify your viewpoints, it's not unreasonable to assume that your online circle is at least somewhat representative of the population. Even in my online circles, I find myself shocked when people I *expected* to be on my "side" when it comes to a certain issue, to be on the opposite side. Social media was once a glowing opportunity for discussion and decorum, but the algorithm knows that that model isn't as profitable as pitting as many people against each other as possible.
ReplyDeleteI feel like there should be a way for social media platforms to filter misinformation or not allow it to be posted at all. When things go unchecked, I feel like it stirs the pot in a way that negatively affects politics. I think social media also solidifies this idea of sides. It allows people to get their opinions and beliefs out there for others to pick apart, agree with, or disagree with. People also align mostly with people who think and feel as they do, which I think causes problems within itself. Social media plays what I think to be a major role in politics in the United States.
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