Social Media's Role in Politics
Why this is a problem?
Social Media has very rapidly become an integral part of our everyday lives in America. According to the article “Trick or Tweet? Or Both?” by Chris Baraniuk, a freelance science and technology journalist, he found that “roughly six in 10 US adults are getting their news primarily from social media”. This statistic alone shows the importance of having accurate information on social media. The biggest problem with social media is that it is almost completely unregulated which makes it more susceptible to misinformation.
Most likely sources of fake new stories in the United States as of January 2017
This type of misinformation around election time is intentionally and maliciously used as a form of voter suppression. This year especially, there was widespread confusion surrounding voting because of the coronavirus pandemic, such a vote-by-mail procedures and the safety of polling locations. Digital disinformation is America’s biggest form of voter suppression in today's new age of social media and it has divided us as a nation as well as undermined our democracy.
Why does it matter?
Marginalized groups are at a higher risk of being victims to voter suppression based on false information. Voter suppression strategies often target vulnerable communities such a black people, low-income people, immigrants and other minorities. Voter suppression comes in many forms such as voter ID laws, voter registration rules, and purged votes. However, voter misinformation has the potential to blindside voters by causing them to miss their chance to vote completely.
One example attempt of this type of voter suppression targeted Republican Gubernatorial Matt Bevin supporters with a message saying, "Bevin supporters do not forget to vote on Wednesday, November 6th,". This tweet is sending out the wrong election date and could affect who comes to the polls.
How does this connect to information?
This problem emphasizes how important it is to utilize reliable news sources over social media outlets that are less regulated. It is also important to fact check everything you see on the internet in general due to the fact that fake news spreads significantly faster online than on paper.