The advent of the Internet and social networking sites (SNSs) has generated a number of concerns regarding the use of social media in the political sphere. Social networking sites, which include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram, have changed the political landscape and sparked broad democratization of information faster than the mainstream media. Rather than informing the public, some politicians use social media to disseminate fake news to further their political narratives (Bimber, 2014; Kreiss, 2016; Bing, 2015). In this regard, this capstone project examined how politicians use current events to further political narratives on social media.
A systematic review was conducted to determine how politicians or netizens use current events to further political narratives. The structuration theory developed by Giddens was used to establish the theoretical framework for this capstone project. This theory holds that social actions affect societal structure and how power is utilized. A comprehensive search strategy was developed for a number of databases and search engines, including Google Scholar. A wide range of literature suggests that politicians use current events to further political narratives. These events political campaigns, the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, and the Black Lives Matter (Bimber, 2014; Housh, 2018). In addition to connecting with their followers, politicians use social media during political campaigns to disseminate fake news or disinformation to further their political narratives. In addition, politicians are using the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic to create political wars and conspiracy theories on social media. Lastly, politicians often use social movements, such as the Black Lives Matter movement, to further their political narratives. For example, politicians use the Black Lives Movement to infuriate and inflame conservative audiences.
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Following the use of political campaigns, pandemics, and social movements to disseminate fake news or misinformation on social media, this capstone proposed some solutions to address these problems. The solutions proposed include: investing in technologies that can find fake news and identify it for users through algorithms and crowdsourcing; strengthening online accountability through stronger real-name policies and enforcement against fake accounts and enhancing news literacy (West, 2017). Out of these three proposed solutions, enhancing news literacy is more realistic and easy to implement. As such, funding efforts to enhance news literacy should be a high priority for government agencies, educational institutions, and organizations.
References
Bimber, B. (2014). Digital media in the Obama campaigns of 2008 and 2012: Adaptation to the personalized political communication environment. Journal of information technology & politics , 11 (2), 130-150.
Bing, N. (2015). Kenya decides: Kiswahili, social media, and politics in Kenya’s 2013 general elections. Journal of African Media Studies , 7 (2), 165-183.
Housh, A. M. (2018). Fake News, Political Narrative, & Social Media: A Structuration Approach. Capstone Collection. 3087.
Kreiss, D. (2016). Seizing the moment: The presidential campaigns’ use of Twitter during the 2012 electoral cycle. New media & society , 18 (8), 1473-1490.
West, D. M. (2017). How to combat fake news and disinformation. Brookings. [Online]. Retrieved July 29, 2020, from https://www.brookings.edu/research/how-to-combat-fake-news-and-disinformation/
