Sure, social media has allowed the public to remain up-to-date on the latest news stories, but it has also aided in the spreading of falsehoods. There has been a rise of this since the 2016 presidential election, in which Russian spies used social media sites to spread misinformation about 2016 Democrat candidate Hilary Clinton as a method of political sabotage. Many Americans, specifically Democrats, worry that history will repeat itself in next year’s presidential election. To ease themselves of this worry, they want the CEOs of social media sites to intervene and prevent the further spread of disinformation.
On Thursday Oct. 17, Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, told the Washington Post before an interview at Georgetown University that he is going to allow political ads containing misrepresentations and lies about the 2020 presidential candidates to be posted onto his social network. Zuckerberg believes that banning political ads containing misrepresentations and lies infringes on American’s right to free speech, which according to the U.S. Constitution under the first amendment guarantees the right to express ideas and information without fear of government censorship. “Zuckerberg stressed Facebook must stand strong against the governments that seek to ‘pull back’ on speech in the face of heightened social and political tension,” Tony Romm of the Washington Post said. This received backlash from Democrats.
Personally, I do not think that Zuckerberg is doing this to protect Americans’ right to free speech. I think he is permitting this because he is profiting from it. Bill Russo, the spokesperson for Joe Biden’s campaign, also finds Zuckerberg’s reasoning unconvincing. “Zuckerberg attempted to use the Constitution as a shield for his company’s bottom line, and his choice to cloak Facebook’s policy in a feigned concern for free expression demonstrates how unprepared his company is for this unique moment in our history and how little it has learned over the past few years.”
Zuckerberg also pinned the blame on the United States government. He claims the government’s lack of retaliation after the 2016 presidential election is the reason the problem has worsened since then. Yet again, Zuckerberg finds another excuse to continue the promotion of lies in political ads.
None of the nonsense, as stated above, Zuckerberg has said in recent weeks is surprising to me in the slightest. The only motive owners of major, multi-billion dollar companies have is profiting more money. They will do anything in their power to achieve this. They do not care if it harms their loyal users.
And so I end with this — a cliche quote our parents and teachers told us growing up: “Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet.” In a heightened political climate, you should be wary of the information posted online because it might not be true.
