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Lies are perfectly fine on social media. Should we answer that?
In April 2020, false information was displayed more than 500 million times on Facebook. More than 28 million people follow public groups with false information about vaccines and covid-19.
On Twitter, the President of the United States directly shares false information.
Social networks have become the place where you can claim what you want, when you want without a filter. At its best, direct and honest contact. At your worst starting point for fake news, false information, and things that can be downright dangerous.
4 out of 10 of us ordinary mortals think we can’t recognize fake news. Probably more. When journalists who are used to verifying all information are often misled, you and I become more often lurt. Almost all of that false information begins on social media. It’s a problem?
If you ask Facebook, you will get the following: Facebook contributes significantly to accurate information.
Of course there is a lot correctly information on Facebook further. I love social media. Twitter is entertaining, Facebook is welcoming, especially now that we don’t know that many. Without the latter during, for example, football rounds, this would have been even more difficult. Instagram is a polished version of the real world, TikTok is entertainment, Snapchat is great as direct contact with others. Yodel, well that’s gossip.
Still, these social channels are a bit like making coffee without a filter. There will be a lot of sand, mess and just plain bad. Because exactly what is missing is the filter.
It’s hard to say when it really started going downhill, but it’s easy to point out that it was the sitting American president who started leading us down the road to hell.
Donald’s goal at the time was that Barack Obama could not become president of the United States. A third of Americans believed in him, and as many as 7 out of 10 registered Republicans.
The claim of Many peopleAs Donald would say, it was the following: The reason the media didn’t report was because they were in the pocket of some conspiracy. Probably controlled by Bill Gates, who wants everyone to be vaccinated so you can control all the conversations from the moon where little green men make atomic bombs to destroy our flat earth. Enough for now?
What is the truth?
When I was young, there were many rumors. One of the things we talked about the most when I was in elementary school was that Kiss was actually disbanded and replaced by robots. Now he was actually plotted in the Kiss movie, hysterically miserable, but we didn’t know any better. Someone had told us and we passed it on to 2 or 3 other people. The viral spread may have been at an R above 1, but it wasn’t very high. There were not thousands of people who could immediately like, share and comment. It was Rune and Marius. There were 3 of us.
No newspaper, magazine or television channel reported that Kiss had been replaced by robots. Of course that is enough. Editors and journalists review tips, rumors, and cases.
Today, social media can create problems. Great news that has consequences. Cases are often complex, as is the case with palm oil. A viral headline or opinion can hide many truths, even if an influencer has read a full page of the case. Because when things really take some time to verify, it’s dangerous when what we believe, believe, and perceive is based on something we’ve read. Preferably on social media, but of course later also on traditional media.
What is false information?
I have read something somewhere. The terrain is flat. Vaccinations are silly. Radiation from mobile masts is dangerous for you. Plastic bags destroy the earth. There are clairvoyants. The aliens control Bill Gates. Donald Trump received the most votes.
Four years ago, in 2016, Russia influenced the US elections with false information. Now in 2020, the false information came directly from the president himself. After the election, both Twitter and Facebook have taken steps to remove false information, but before the election? The main social networks have said that it would be difficult for them to remove false information, but now we see that it is possible. Also, we have all seen examples of social networks that censor a lot of weird things, you can do it if you want.
What we so often forget is that Facebook and Twitter are American companies, with American laws and mindsets. You are the item that they sell, and it is information about how you behave and think that makes money in Mark Zuckerberg’s account. If these companies bother the president too much, there will be too many hearings and difficulties.
Traditional media sell ads, but they make a living from journalism. The product sold is a subscription or ads in a serious context. Although traditional media also use the knowledge of the data to know who sees the ads.
A small purpose is, of course, that if you, as an advertising buyer, choose to support a medium close to you, you help a future with a free press, a local presence, and someone daring to ask the tough questions (or for the case: say that the emperor has no clothes on himself (possibly that the president is lying)). The money does not go to California.
Free speech, man!
You often get arguments about free speech if you try to accept the argument. MSM (Main Stream Media) doesn’t tell the whole story. The truth must come out. It must be allowed to mean. I’m not a racist, but …
Of course, it is allowed to mean. Freedom of expression is extremely important, but as my mother often said: There are some things you can think about, Pål. Other things you can say. I’m not good at it. I say much more than I should. Shoot from the hip, so to speak. It means cockpit and rifle. It bothers me both friends and enemies.
Of course we had false information before, but we also had filters. There is a big difference between this comment that you are reading now and something that appears on Twitter or Facebook. This has been read by at least one, maybe two before publication. The editors have found that I do not get rid of idiotic things that are not significant, but directly factual. The earth is not flat. Not one opinion.
On social media, this is not the case. Some take up the fight, like Åge Sten Nilsen. All the credit to those who endure. Trolls do not tolerate light. Discussions most often take place in closed rooms (groups), where conspiracy theories and rumors abound. Not only on the channels most people use, but also on pure gossip services like Jodel.
Danger, warrior of danger
Debate, discussion, and disagreement often create better solutions. At the same time: humans prefer simple solutions. Preferably in a language that we know and understand. The challenge is that the truth often has many sides. Very few things are completely black and white. Many signs are needed to explain the electoral system in the United States. An argument often requires the difficulty of assimilating opinions, and a truth is often two-sided. It depends on where you are, what you represent, and your starting point. Complex problems mean things need to be checked.
The challenge is that without a filter it will only grow. As long as Facebook, Twitter and the others claim that they are not media, but technology platforms, there will be anarchy and chaos. There will be lies, fantasies and shit. There will be too much noise. We, you and I, have our social networks destroyed by a tsunami of false information. Even the most powerful man in the world.
P.S! By the way, it’s not just you and I who are being destroyed by social media. Those who work with him are also mentally and physically destroyed. Moderators, who many have found to often make completely random and bizarre decisions, often have serious mental challenges.
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