easyDNS is pleased to sponsor Jesse Hirsh‘s “Future Fibre / Future Tools” segments of his new email list, Metaviews
The growing political influence of social media platforms
If the medium is the message than social media platforms wield a tremendous amount of political power. Unfortunately most people focus on the content of the medium, rather than the transformative effect of the media itself.
Yet with social media it does feel as if we’re reaching a tipping point where we can collectively acknowledge the important and powerful role that these platforms play in our political discourse and in relation to our political systems and institutions.
Which makes it ironic that Facebook has decided to suppress political content on their platform.
Facebook announced that it had started changing its algorithm to reduce political content in users’ news feeds. Official government agencies will be exempt from the change, as will information about Covid-19 from organizations like the CDC and the WHO. https://t.co/708Vf75M25
— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 10, 2021
Of course Facebook is not using the framing I am, rather they’re suggesting that this is not only a desirable feature among users, but one that they will be able to have agency in, vis a vis their interaction with the algorithm.
However I prefer to use the phrase suppressing political content, as that will be the effect of this change.
It’s also meant to be a distraction from deeper structural issues.
Facebook continues to fail in its attempts to set the narrative for scrutiny of its platform in any given week. Today it's proactive redux in politics content. Last year it was free expression. Until they wrestle their underlying toxic microtargeting platform, nothing will work.
— Jason Kint (@jason_kint) February 10, 2021
Facebook is an advertising platform above and beyond their status as a dominant communications platform. It is their advertising business that requires greater scrutiny and restructuring. How people communicate on their platform is secondary to how those same people are targeted by ads.
Facebook is inherently political, and any attempt to discourage or inhibit behaviour on their platform is itself inherently a political act.
I elaborated on this on a segment from Thursday’s show.
Meanwhile, in India, Twitter has found itself stuck between the Indian government and the ongoing farmers protest.
Here’s a great TikTok that summarizes why the protests are taking place.
Twitter has been going back and forth with the Indian government trying to dodge, then comply, then defy, and then sort of comply with orders to block or ban pro-farmer Twitter users.
Twitter Unblocked Accounts That Criticized India’s Government. Now, Its Employees Are Being Threatened With Jail Time Unless It Blocks Them Again. https://t.co/Ip1wEvDZuE
— jenn barrigar (@anne_nonymity) February 10, 2021
Part of the issue is potential harm to Twitter staff in India, and it’s partly why the company ended up complying, even though they argue they did so with some reservations or exceptions.
"It also said that no accounts belonging to news media entities, journalists, activists, and politicians were taken down. "To do so, we believe, would violate their fundamental right to free expression under Indian law" https://t.co/loRP7iyjWv
— Fabio Chiusi (@fabiochiusi) February 10, 2021
The pressure on Twitter staff in India has been such that many of their staff have been resigning, including their head of public policy in India.
not to mention 👀 https://t.co/rtzj1kCWXi
— shoshana wodinsky (@swodinsky) February 11, 2021
For more on this subject, check out the segment from the Metaviews show.