Social Networks are Spoon Feeding You Their Version of the News

Social Networks are Spoon Feeding You Their Version of the News

Caveat: The following comments are my own, based on my own experiences, with my own personal bias.

Recent outrage over Facebook “shaping the news” has me scratching my head. The accusations that editors are preventing some types of news from appearing in the “Trending” section Facebook, to me, isn’t all that shocking. I’m with John Herrman from The New York Times – the shocking part is that Facebook has “editors.”

Granted, shaping the content that 1.65 billion monthly users see and potentially read gives Facebook a broad range of influence. But my question is this: Are we really turning to social media for hard news?

According to an article on The Social Times, we are. The article says “Facebook is a primary source of news for many users now, and that segment is growing. Therefore, it seems deeply unethical that Facebook would manipulate a feature users expect to be based on buzz.”

Curator or Journalist?

When I started journalism school, it was quickly drummed into my head that to be a good reporter, I had to be fair, balanced and factual. Good reporters and editors strive to be. But, in all honesty, some of the journalists I’ve worked with over the years are quite opinionated. It’s just human nature. Keeping a lid on your own personal biases is key.

Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram employ content curators. Should they deliberately influence “buzz” to fit their own agenda? No. But, should they be held to the same standard as a journalist? Hmm…

By its very nature, social media is a form of opinion. The majority of its content is user-generated, created in a quick, hyper-opinionated fashion. Trending topics are influenced by what is shared, which doesn’t make that content “news;” it makes it popular.

I get it; many people are skeptical about traditional news outlets. However, please allow some of that skepticism to flow to social media outlets as well. If social media is your primary source of news, find a secondary well of information too.

If your goal is to be an informed citizen, you should never get your news from only one source, unless it is directly from the source. Chances are you are not going to have a conversation with a Presidential candidate, a celebrity or even your local fire chief. So, be fair, balanced and honest with yourself. Seek out more than one opinion on what you consider news.

 

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