A society that is based on falsehood is bound to fail. We have all celebrated and welcomed social media as it continues to make the world a global village. Studies have shown that up to 41% of Americans rely on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, among others for news (Panke, 2019). The First Amendment right in the United States gives citizens the right to expression. However, rights come with responsibilities, something that has been difficult to control in the free social media world. Fake news is defined as information that lacks credibility and deviates from the truth. Networking through social media has significantly contributed to the growth of fake news, thereby calling for the need always to verify the sources for credibility.
Many Americans today recognize that fake news is responsible for the confusion, especially as regards the current events and issues. However, despite their knowledge, they have continued to circulate it. According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, up to 23% of adults in the US have taken part in the sharing of fake news (Ordway, 2017). Propagators of the fake news tend to pose as serious journalists and writers whose aim is to make money by influencing public opinion. Cases of fake news essentially crop up during national elections as witnessed in 2016. They can occur either as recorded segments or written pieces which tend to promote conspiracy theories or promote false information.
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Social media was created to enhance a sense of community and togetherness on internet platforms. The social media platforms enjoy a massive following with research in the second quarter of 2018, showing that Facebook and Instagram have 2.23 billion and 1 billion users, respectively (Hooper, 2019). Although these platforms have policies regarding the spread of the fake news, they lack the mechanism and framework of differentiating between real and false information. Even if a source is identified as fake, it will take time before it is pulled down and by then, the damage would have already occurred. Therefore, whether we like it or not, the age of social media will continue hurting individuals, especially we, the politicians who require a certain degree of public portrayal.
In the US, many fake news pages are mainly motivated by commercial interest. Through clicks and advertisements, they receive immense amounts of revenue. The emergence of other social media sites such as WhatsApp Messenger enables quick sharing of fake information through telephone contacts. This is especially effective if the news exists in the form of a video. For politicians, it can be easy for one to conspire against the other one to orchestrate defamation or propagate lies. Therefore, it is important for the citizens to always remain objective in how they assess and evaluate their sources.
One would argue that social media has played a critical role in informing the people as people get instant news shared quickly. They could as well argue that social media sites such as Facebook continue to purge fake accounts. I would agree that social media continues to inform people across the nation and globe at large. However, its role in misinformation cannot be overemphasized. Although the fake accounts are controlled, some pages and sites have camouflaged under legitimate names and brands, thereby setting loopholes which social media authorities easily miss.
Networking through social media has significantly contributed to the growth of fake news, thereby calling for the need always to verify the sources for credibility. As a person seeking office, I would urge everyone to remain objective and weary of any news that has a malicious background. Let us maintain a culture of verification and question before consumption.
References
Hooper, C., (2019). Lies, damn lies, and fake news: defamation on social media. https://www.crippspg.co.uk/lies-damn-lies-and-fake-news-defamation-on-social-media/
Ordway, D., (2017). Fake news and the spread of misinformation. Journalist’s Resource https://journalistsresource.org/studies/society/internet/fake-news-conspiracy-theories-journalism-research/
Panke, S., (2019). Social Media and Fake News. AACE Review https://www.aace.org/review/social-media-and-fake-news/
