(UnitedReader.com) – Social media platforms help people connect and share important information about current events. Yet, these sites are also a significant source of disinformation and fake news. One platform looks to limit the amount of political content it allows in response to the constant deluge after negative feedback from users. But is widespread censorship fair?
If you haven’t guessed it already, the social media platform in question is Facebook. The company recently decided to de-emphasize current events and political content in the News Feed after complaints from users who frequent the site.
Facebook plans to announce that it will de-emphasize political posts and current events content in the News Feed based on negative user feedback, Axios has learned. https://t.co/tjLnIZMZlD
— Axios (@axios) August 31, 2021
This change could impact news organizations and publishers who rely on political content to attract readers. It isn’t the first time for Facebook to apply filters to its news feeds, either. It previously attempted to limit the amount of political content users interacted with on the site shortly after the election in November 2020.
Earlier this year, the social media giant started limiting the amount of political content in the News Feed in Canada, the US, and Indonesia. Users responded positively to the shift. So now, Facebook seeks to limit political content in Spain, Costa Rica, Ireland, and Sweden, too.
Politics and current happenings in the world are highly likely to go viral. As a result, misinformation quickly spreads, and fact-checking developing stories becomes more challenging by the day. Yet, some warn of the potential for bias in censorship of any kind.
Many conservatives already feel Facebook unfairly censors their views. Will the social media giant apply their intended limitations evenly to people on both sides of the political aisle? Or, is this just the latest in a series of measures aimed at silencing the Right?
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