Open your eyes, it’s Monday. 👀 Today we’re going to discuss whether censorship of social media is a good way to squash the ignorance and misinformation spreading like a disease across Facebook and Twitter. 🔥 Warning: This is a hot-button issue.
“OMG, I hate Facebook! It’s nothing but politics and drama!” – Every other conversation I hear about social media.
In an op-ed piece on USA Today, University of Tennessee law professor Glenn Harlan Reynolds discusses the pressure social media outlets are under to censor “angry, ill-informed speech.”
To be sure, there is no shortage of angry speech on social media.
We log on to see pictures of the family and get blasted with politics, drama, and 10,000 reasons why anyone with an opposing opinion is an idiot.
Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are all putting in a massive effort to eliminate fake accounts. But, there are still millions of real people posting images, articles, and memes designed to get your blood boiling.
Should those type of posts be eliminated, too?
The problem arises when we try to decide whose opinions have a right be heard and which should be silenced. There is no way to be fair and objective about that because we’re all biased by our own world view.
And I sure don’t want the heads of massive corporations controlling what I can and cannot see.
Personal Censorship of Social Media
Every time we like, share or respond to something, it influences what social media channels think we want to see. So, in essence, we can censor our own timelines.
- You can choose who to follow, friend, and subscribe to.
- You choose what to like, share, and comment on.
- And it’s your right to unfollow anyone you no longer want to hear from — even if its your cousin.
On the flip side, make sure you’re not a part of the problem. Be intentional and fact-check anything you share. And above all else, be respectful.
If you can’t make your point without calling the other person an idiot, then you don’t really have an argument.
Social media can be an awesome opportunity to connect and share ideas or a terrifying way to manipulate and divide our society.
Its future is in our hands.
Challenge
Before you share anything on social media:
- Read or watch the entire article.
- Confirm its accuracy.
- Think about whether it benefits your community.
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Let’s grab coffee soon,
Drew Horine, Founder & Chief Creative
