M said “facebook is ending democracy”. It’s a common fear. But how, exactly, could this be happening? Let’s try and breakdown the possibilities:<\/p>\n
Because facebook somehow over-rides our free will?<\/em> Engineer and former Facebook VP of user growth, Chamath Palihapitiya, says this (video<\/a>, report<\/a>), as do others, but it is not a coherent accusation<\/a>.<\/p>\n Because facebook creates echo-chambers<\/a>?<\/em>. The evidence<\/a> on this is ambiguous. One study found that people are more likely to connect with people with dissimilar views over facebook than offline<\/a>.<\/p>\n Distraction<\/em>? Social media as a cathartic substitute<\/a> for political engagement? In Bowling Alone<\/a>, Robert Putnam blames television and commuting for a large part of a loss of trust and participation in social organisations. Is Facebook displacing valuable social and political actions, rather than catalysing them? <\/p>\n Related, does social media’s excellence at bite-sized information mean that context, nuance and argument are now disadvantaged in a way they weren’t before?<\/p>\n Misinformation<\/em>? Fake news, propaganda, weaponised hoaxes, the whole boatload<\/a> of lies and half-truths. But surely this is not new<\/a>. Something about the lack of transparency, and the ability to insert misinformation<\/a> so it is transmitted along our social networks, the same kind of currency as news of their pets and holiday photos, adds a terrifying velocity to misinformation.<\/p>\n False consensus<\/em> – creating the impression that something is universally viewed at true or important, when it isn’t. See also filter bubbles. Distinguished from echo chambers, but algorithmically curated blindness to counterpoints. <\/p>\n