These days, we are awash in falsehoods. Social media have been a blessing. But they have also been a curse. Robin Sears writes:
Someone leaked an email allegedly from a People’s Party of Canada organizer suggesting that non-white Canadians who join their nascent organization should be put on display in front of the camera, but never consulted about policy, “…as they are all liberals anyway.” It strains credulity, however, that any racialized Canadian would find the anti-immigrant, Islamophobic message of the Bernier blowhards attractive.
So the message may have been fake, as the party instantly declared, but it got a lot of attention and probably did some damage, whether fake or real.
More troubling was the reaction of YouTube and Facebook to a doctored video, now viewed millions of times, that showed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as drunk. Facebook refused for days to take it down. No matter how improbable the source or the claim, some of smear will stick with some people – even after it has been amply disproven. Islamaphobes and Pelosi haters will continue to believe and circulate nonsense.
Recently, governments --particularly in Europe -- have been trying to regulate the new media giants. But, ultimately, the ability to exercise critical thinking will determine what kind of legs these stories have. It's become much easier for the new Dr Goebbels -- and there are several -- to exercise their dark arts.
Something to think about as we enter our federal election.
Image: The University Times
6 comments:
Incompetence we can understand. Failure to remove proven fraud and libel is criminal and should be prosecuted. This stuff won't change until governments enforce stiff regulations. Facebook can't be fixed because its business model depends upon violating users' privacy. Google is not far behind.
Until we have privacy laws with teeth, Toby, Facebook and Google will have a field day.
We do have laws, Owen. The lack is teeth. Governments have been failing to enforce for half a century. Basically, governments don't like privacy for individual citizens; privacy makes their work more difficult. Police and other groups are forever complaining that the rules are too tight, all the while as said police violate our rights to privacy.
Much of the problem is us. We want services, convenience and credit and sacrificing a few numbers doesn't seem to be a problem. We have nothing to hide, right? We really need to wake up and keep our personal info personal.
As I type this my malware blockers are showing nine bots blocked. They are all from Google.
I am greatly troubled by the way 'social media' is taking over being both the source and the response to to information that goes far beyond "social" issues, Owen. I will freely admit (perhaps boast is a better term?) that I do NOT subscribe or even read (except in the most exceptional circumstances) such 'media' and still manage to stay informed and connect with those that I wish to. I an not sure that 'regulation' will help those who think of such sources as gospel!
It has to be disconcerting, Toby, to know that nine machines would like to monitor everything you see and so. And, unless there is a public outcry, governments will do nothing about it.
It seems to me that most of us used to know when people were snooping around our property, Rural. Now we welcome the snoops into our houses.
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