Journalism Should use Facebook not the Other way Around.
By Darriel Ortiz
In a Democracy we are subject to think distribution of public information or freedom of the press is a right.
Instead what we see are gatekeepers that make decisions for the masses on what is acceptable or not.
The giant social media platforms, whose interests are on collecting users’ information for profit, are damaging journalists access to the public.
According to a study done at Columbia Journalism School researchers found, “The loss of branding, the lack of audience data, and the migration of advertising revenue remain key concerns for publishers.” Since the rise of social platforms like Facebook and Twitter, Journalism has had to adapt to different formats. From how long a video should be to the amount of characters in a tweet, journalists have been forced to focus on how to attract large audience in as little words as possible.
Low quality versus high-quality content is easily distributed through social media because it’s more likely to be shared and viewed. The major issue is that these algorithmic trends of low quality over high-quality content have not only changed the way we consume news but also how we retain information.
The giant social media platforms are indirectly training the public on which information is relevant instead of what’s important. The problem with relevant information on social platforms is that it’s based on how many clicks or shares the information may have. This is why investigated stories are less likely to flow through your news feed than sensationalized articles.
According to published article We need More Alternative to Facebook by Brian Bergstein:
“As Facebook advises, your Facebook friends are generally people you already know in real life. That makes it more likely, not less, to stimulate homogeneity of thought.”
The belief that social platforms are trying to create “homogeneity of thought” is extremely disturbing when the main idea of Facebook is to share different perspective, not keep the public in a filter bubble.
Editors and publishers are essential jobs for social media platforms to have. The fact that algorithms can discriminate minority groups calls for a rise in diversity in the organization to prevent society from being misled.
