Authenticity of the Facebook Narrative

Posted on by Rafaela Evans

I started paying attention to the social media hearings when Jack Dorsey tweeted out his opening statement. I had never analyzed social media, but specifically Twitter and Facebook’s roles in my life. Were they meant for me to see all offering opinions? Was I supposed to be able to see hateful rhetoric? Was it my job to set limitations? Or that of the platform?

I started to believe that our difficulty with the current relationship between state and social media is the authenticity of every narrative. I used to believe that everything on my Facebook timeline was fact and just because it was coming from the person, I should believe what was being said. As I have grown older, it’s important to remember that not everyone’s priority online is to stay genuine. I have started to stop paying attention to sponsored posts, because to think about someone paying to promote posts has started to develop a negative connotation. I actually try to scroll past something faster when I recognize it is an advertisement.

On Twitter, I started paying attention to the people who would direct target Dorsey, like the tweet below. It’s started to become common that when people have a direct problem, they tweet @jack or @twittersupport in order to feel like their concerns are being addressed. In Ahmad’s tweet, his verified account gives him more credibility, and he is using his verification to amplify his message.

Facebook’s decision to partner with fact-checking partners appears to be a good decision. For Facebook to even show the intention to do their part in not allowing misinformation to spread is a step in the right direction. But when Facebook announced who these partners would be, the publications were not the most favorable.

 

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