Winnowing truth from fantasy: Social media ‘facts’ a toxic influence

Last Thursday, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was unflinching on Facebook. She described Mark Zuckerberg’s behemoth as “accomplices for misleading the American people with money from God knows where”. She joined an ever-growing cohort arguing that the company isn’t doing enough to root out lies published on its platform. Their “business model is strictly to make money”, she said. “They don’t care about truth ... they have said that even if it is not true they will print it.” Unsurprisingly, and correctly, she called that “shameful”. Unsurprisingly, her views were echoed the next day by White House hopeful Joe Biden: “I’ve never been a big Zuckerberg fan. I think he’s a real problem ... He knows better.” New York Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez consolidated that message and warned that America’s 2020 presidential election will be influenced by paid-for false claims spread through the social media platform.

Zuckerberg, in a self-serving and disingenuous response, said: “In a democracy, it’s really important that people can see for themselves what politicians are saying, so they can make their own judgments.” Not even his employees were convinced by his plamás as 200 of them challenged him to reconsider as “free speech and paid speech are not the same”. Zuckerberg wants the world to believe that Facebook facilitates fair debate when, in reality, you can say whatever you like as you, or your backer, pay Facebook’s advertising rates.