Skip to main content

Facebook

 After our last module I thought it would be interesting and relevant to take a look at the role social media plays in politics and political trends. For this specific post I will take a look at Facebook, as there has been much conversation and controversy that last few years about Facebook involvement in politics. Facebook was created to connect millions of people worldwide as a major goal by Zuckerberg. Ultimately, Facebook has done exactly that. Facebook (and other social media platforms) have brought attention to certain global and social issues that many would not be aware of otherwise. Therefore, there are positive aspects of social media, but Facebook has the potential, and has led to political polarization and impacting political landscape, especially in the 2016 election. Through the "algorithmic solution" set up to only show individuals certain post based on what they like but also what the company wants to promote, and censorship and removal of videos and articles depending on the political affiliation attached to them, Facebook has in many ways contributed to biases and political polarization. Ultimately, free speech should be allowed on Facebook (as long as it is not discriminatory, violent, etc.) which means that its users should have freedom in what it posts. Furthermore, has a right to ban political videos and articles all together, but if that is the guidelines that Facebook chooses for its company, then it should ban all political ads and articles, instead of banning some and allowing others. This article from NPR attached below highlights the same ideas that I touched on, such as Facebook stating that it banned political ads during the last presidential and senate election, but how more than 70, 000 political ads were still shared
on Facebook. 


https://www.npr.org/2021/12/09/1062516250/researchers-explain-why-they-believe-facebook-mishandles-political-ads


Comments

  1. Anh-Thu DoFebruary 16, 2022 at 1:56 PM

    I definitely think social media, with Facebook being one of the original pioneers, has done a lot of good and a lot of bad. As you said, they've allowed for the proliferation of news stories that may not have gained as much attention, particularly on a national level, otherwise. However, they've also contributed to the formation of echo chambers, increased polarization, and the spread of "fake news". Although platforms have tried to regulate this to an extent, it's hard to prevent everything from slipping through. As you mentioned, even though Facebook did its best to limit political ads during the election, many were still shared. This attempt at regulation isn't without criticism from free speech proponents either. I'm interested as time goes on how Facebook and other platforms will strike a balance between moderation and outright censorship. Overall, an informing read!

    ReplyDelete
  2. HaileyFebruary 17, 2022 at 10:09 PM

    You hit perfectly on how difficult it is to balance the many positives and many negatives of Facebook. Giving everyone a platform is a blessing and a curse - it allows constituents to express their views, but it also provides an effective way to spread "fake news" like never before. It'll be interesting to see how Facebook continues to tackle this issue.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why Media Focuses on Reporting Negative News

  It feels as though every time I view any sort of social media or news apps or channels that the news is flooded with death, economic decline, corruption, political conflict, and many other negative and oftentimes saddening events. And in a time of pandemic that has impacted billions of individuals and has brought devastating effects to our country, consuming negative news can be especially triggering and harmful to mental health. Furthermore, the term, “negativity bias” has been increasingly common as negative events are reported on more frequently. Ultimately, I can assume that many other individuals also feel as though negative news oftentimes appear to be majority of what news outlets choose to focus on in terms of deciding what events are “newsworthy.” Therefore, I decided to take a look at increasing occurrence of negative news reporting and possible reasons as to why media outlets often choose to report on such negative, saddening, emotional evoking events. The article at...
2 comments
Read more

Young Adults Uninterested in Politics

  Since our class specifically discusses the overlapping relationship between mass media and politics, I think it would be interesting and relevant to take a look at the relationship between young adults and politics, Specifically the study of political science and youth disengagement in politics. Youth make up a large percentage of the population and as well as large percentage of eligible voters, “While 18–29 year-olds account for nearly 22 percent of the voting-age population, they made up just 13 percent of the voting electorate in 2018 – and that’s an improvement over previous years.” Past and recent voter turnout and political involvement of young adults would also be helpful in better understanding political disengagement of young adults as a whole and ultimately helps to better understand the relationship between media and politics. Furthermore, the voting population of the U.S is aging with fewer young adults voting and becoming involved in politics. This is problematic as...
2 comments
Read more

Forbes Article On Critical Thinking

To add onto my previous post I have attached an article from Forbes that focuses on maintaining critical thinking skills, a skill that is imperative to have in a time where information is available endlessly online. And unfortunately depending the possible agendas behind those sources, the information may not be reliable or factual. When viewing news, especially on social media, it is important to use fact checkers to verify. The Forbes article mentions some such as; Snopes, Poltifact, FactCheck.org, Washington Post fact Checker and others. I have attached the article that goes into further detail of how to avoid fake news and think critically in a time where social media is so prominent.  Forbes Article on Critical Thinking https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewarnold/2018/02/27/how-to-maintain-critical-thinking-in-the-modern-world-of-new-media/?sh=6af8b00350e5
Post a Comment
Read more

About Me.....

My photo
Melissa N
Hello everyone, my name is Melissa Clopein. I am a senior at Kennesaw State University, my major is Political Science with a minor in International Relations. In my free time I enjoy cooking, hiking, traveling, and learning as much as I can about different countries and their cultures. Ever since I was old enough to truly understand politics, I have been interested in international relations and politics. In addition, I have also been extremely interested in how media influences politics and the relationship between the two, which is a major reason I am taking this class. I intend to use this blog to focus on some important topics relating specifically to mass media and politics. I think an important topic to address is the common occurrence of biases in media, extremism from the left and the right, and how both sides contribute to political polarity in U.S citizens.