For the past decade, social media platforms have undeniably played a role in influencing democracy. From the coverage of the Arab Spring in 2011 to global elections around the world, many believed that social media was a positive tool for keeping citizens informed and connected with the world. However, the 2016 election of Donald Trump redefined social media, specifically Facebook, as a purveyor of “fake news” through foreign interference and manipulation of content. In order to improve Facebook and combat the spread of misinformation, Facebook should consider the following measures.
- Verify the news stories that appear in the trending column of the newsfeed
Facebook’s trending column has been criticized in the past for purposely suppressing conservative news stories, according to a report published by Gizmondo. Implementing a tool that verifies news stories, similar to how Twitter verifies users, will eliminate bias and give voice to the conservative point of view.
A @BenShapiro article is trending #1 on Facebook? Something's haywire. Is the apocalypse about to hit? https://t.co/Lrf6yZxALT pic.twitter.com/qJCjGWzRiq
— Matt Christiansen (@MLChristiansen) January 25, 2018
- Slowly begin to eliminate political advertising altogether
I believe that allowing political ads to appear on the newsfeed makes it easier for foreign hackers to intervene and influence public opinion, such as the Russians in 2016, especially when posing as organizations that appear as sponsored posts.
The Koch Network will spend millions but Russia will target progressives with divisive lies. Russia's Facebook ads took all sides. #TheResistance must remain alert. Below is a Russian pro-Black Panther ad next to a Russian pro LGBTQ ad. pic.twitter.com/wz3bo1LTPB
— Robert M. Goldstein (@Robrt_M_Goldste) January 28, 2018
3. Create an automatic clean-up tool
Similar to most millennials, I have used Facebook since I was in middle school and some of my posts have not always been in good taste. Unfortunately, Facebook’s current platform makes it difficult for you to go back and mass-delete posts and comments on your profile. An automatic clean-up tool would also allow programmers to go back and rid Facebook of previous bias and inaccurate news stories.
I think your first suggestion is a huge key for refreshing Facebook’s current state. This is SUCH a simple fix that could quickly promote real content that the people want. Diving even deeper into the Trending bar, I didn’t realize until recently that you can switch between trending categories (i.e. Entertainment, Politics), more so, you can customize your content by providing feedback on articles you don’t want to see. Perhaps forcing all users to take the time to look at this feature, in the same way Facebook and Twitter introduce new features upon an application update, could be beneficial.
I also love your 3rd suggestion, if not for democracy, but for my embarrassing eye-liner clad middle school selfies.