In the past, reliable news networks, newspapers, and live airings of the politicians themselves were how the public received news and updates about politics. Today however the term “fake news” has risen from unworthy new platforms who act more as a tabloid than they do a news source. From there, people retweet, repost, and fabricate these sources on their own social media page to further spread the word of whatever information is being given out. On the other hand, social media is also able to spread reliable news sources faster and more efficiently to those who no longer read the paper or physically watch the news anchors every morning. Whether it be false or correct political news, is social media doing more harm than good for the modern political world?

There are several generations currently active on today’s social media platforms. The eldest of the standing generations is the Baby Boomers, born from 1946-1964, whom if they use social media primarily use Facebook. Gen X, those born between 1965-1976, also use Facebook but are often on Instagram and Twitter as well. Millennials, born between 1977 – 1995, and Gen Z, born 1996 to today, reside on the same platforms of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok. All four of the above mentioned apps are completely different but are used to quickly spread information from one source, to another person and from that person can be spread to any of their friends or followers. 

The two main political party affiliations, democrat and republican, have been divided recently of which news source they trust and prefer to receive political information from. Democrats prefer news sources such as CNN whereas republicans prefer to receive news from Fox News. The main difference is that each one is biased towards their political party, candidates, elects, and so forth. In an NPR article about the negative effects of social media on the political world, Pinar Yildirim, a marketing professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania who specializes in social media trends, speaks on the subject. He states, “One way that increased usage may be felt in the 2020 election isn’t in just the amount of false information being seen and shared”- “but in how polarized the American public is during the campaign cycle.” The polarization of America is becoming more evident more than ever and social media is making it much worse. 

Former journalist Steven Brill says in the previously mentioned NPR article that, “The great thing about the Internet is everyone can be a publisher. The really bad thing about the Internet is everyone can be a publisher.” Individuals can take what they heard or read from their preferred news source and shape it into what is merely an opinion but then is taken by their followers as facts and legitimate information. The current pandemic has led people to create their own theories on if the coronavirus is a hoax, if/how it can be contracted, if masks are necessary, and so forth. Instead of listening to the scientists who are speaking on the democratic news platforms like CNN, they are hearing from false sources and then spreading that information to everyone else. 

Yes, social media can be used to distribute false or negative political news, but on the other hand, social media has also been a way to give political information to people who usually aren’t interested in politics. More youth voted in the 2020 election than ever before and this could be thanks to social media. Additionally, unlike older social media users, younger users are more adapted to discovering false information from the truth because of their increased knowledge on sources, plagiarism, bias, and so forth that is taught in the modern educational system. “How Important Is Social Media In Reaching Young Voters?” is a recent article in Forbes written by Peter Suciu who writes, “Even as this is the first opportunity for many of generation Z to vote, they see how it was manipulated in past elections and how it is used to sow distrust and spread disinformation.” This acknowledgment of the youth is how social media could possibly be seen as being beneficial when it comes to politics.

So how do we discredit false sources and users posting false information without vanishing the good social media has done for the distribution of political news? A newly encouraged idea comes from a previous and continuous used social media that is somewhat of a “trigger warning”. Instagram stories are where the user can post something or repost another user’s post for 24 hours for all of their followers to see (or if they’re public, for everyone to see”). On there, if the post shows something disturbing whether it be emotional, gory, etc. it first is covered by a gray screen that warns the user of the post before they can click again agreeing to see it. If this could be used to be put over unauthentic news sources or opinionated posts on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok, etc. stating that it could be showcasing false information, then the user knows truthfully what they are reading or watching. This upcoming policy could be what saves American polarization between parties and further benefit generations to come. 

Sources:

https://www.npr.org/2020/05/27/860369744/social-media-usage-is-at-an-all-time-high-that-could-mean-a-nightmare-for-democr

https://www.forbes.com/sites/petersuciu/2020/07/22/how-important-is-social-media-in-reaching-young-voters/?sh=3b9243387679