Shaping social media for 2019

Following the 2016 elections, concerns have been raised about the extent of the role of social media in fanning the spread of hatred and malicious information. The concerns are valid, and as we move toward the 2019 midterm elections, me must address this matter and analyze how it happened and how it can happen again.

Why is social media very conducive for fake news and emotional trigger? For one, producing content and posting it on social media is cheap. Fake news producers simply have to get the right timing in order to get the immediate desired effects (either voting for or hating a candidate). They don’t care about building a long-term reputation because in the first place, they can easily disappear and reappear in another name and personality on the same cheap platform.

The second reason, according to social media researchers, is that the format of social media information – short, flexible, visually-appealing, and rapidly-delivered – makes it difficult to verify as it pulls the reader along compulsively to its desired response.

The third reason is that online social networks are ideologically segregated. It means that most of our peers on Facebook are people who are aligned to our views and ideological position. As a result, we tend to feed on each other’s views, creating a social bubble that is far from the reality around us.

This is true whether one is a Dilawan or a DDS (die-hard Duterte supporter) in social media. And the irony is that the real state of our country does not even divide simply into Dilawan and DDS. Yet that is how the political line is drawn in social media.

Research also shows that fake news websites rely on social media for much of their traffic or number of visitors. In the Philippines, which is considered as the world leader in social media usage, people are reported to increasingly rely on social media for news. There is no hard data to explain this, but in the United States, data show that 62 percent of adults get news from social media.

While there may be some cause for concern, it is quite reassuring to know that only 34 percent of web-using adults in the US trust “some” or “a lot” of the information they get from social media. Most people still trust the national and local news organizations.

So who are the people who likely believe in fake news? Who are the less discerning and the more discerning individuals? According to a study done still in the US (I hope we do our own soon), regular media consumers, people with higher education, and older people have more accurate beliefs about news. This tends to support Adam Smith’s view that “the more people are instructed, the less liable they are to the delusions of enthusiasm and superstition.”

On the other hand, according to a research study published online by Poynter Institute, low critical thinking skills will likely lead a person to believe in fake news. Another factor is partisanship. A person is likely to endorse information that is attached to one’s views regardless of its veracity.

The solution points to education, particularly to media literacy. But good results that are attributable to education take a long time to show up. Meanwhile, we need quick and concrete responses to stem the tide of misinformation that are being cheaply generated on the social media platform. Starting in 2016, Facebook and Google have been adopting measures to filter out fake news sites from their advertising platforms.

In the Philippines, Facebook has assigned third-party fact-checkers like Rappler and VERA Files, catching the ire of many Duterte supporters who claim that Rappler and VERA Files are biased against Duterte. So far, these fact-checkers seem to be doing a good job as there has been a considerable decrease in the number of fake news sites and misleading information on Facebook. Efforts to discredit the not-so-spotless Rappler also seem to have plateaued as the news organization trudged on and, in most cases, is keeping its eye on the facts and real issues.

Every generation has its own unique challenges and ours is in how to reposition our values and knowledge to focus on responding meaningfully to the volatility of the social media platform. This 2019 midterm elections is an occasion to correct our complacency in 2016.