Social media will determine whether or not political parties win the election in 2024, both for the United Kingdom as well as the United States. As the election season approaches, political parties move their debates away from the podium and onto social media platforms. In the age of social media, the younger generation is more likely to follow their candidates on Facebook than to turn on the BBC. Metaverse users began to report that they were logged out and then allowed back into their accounts with some not so subtle changes. Instagram and Threads soon came under fire for attempting to suppress political content just months before the next presidential election by limiting the “political content” that appears on a user’s feed.
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It took a while for users to begin noticing that the app rolled out a new default setting to filter out “political content” from account recommendations with some creators expressing their frustration after Instagram started limiting political content recommendations. Meta had previously (albeit quietly) claimed that it would not filter content from followed accounts but rather would limit its algorithm from “proactively” showcasing political content from unfollowed accounts. “The new setting — which users can opt out of — applies to the Feed, Reels, Explore, and Suggested Users parts of Instagram and Threads,” reports Time magazine.
Double Standard
Content moderation is something “X” owner Elon Musk himself flip-flops on. When first taking the helm at “X” (formerly Twitter), Musk vowed that the platform would be open to free speech both on the left and right of the political aisle. He soon, however, made a U-turned on his words by “silencing his critics” and suspending journalists according to Forbes. Senior reporter at The Drum, Kendra Barnett stated “Elon Musk is silencing his critics on X again, including The Intercept’s Ken Klippenstein & Texas Observer’s Steven Monacelli. It’s another ironic move from the billionaire, who has described himself as a “free speech absolutist”.
The move by Musk has not only emboldened extremists on his platform but Musk plays an equal part in fueling conspiracies by “engaging with their accounts, and seems to have protected them from scrutiny,” reports Wired. By blocking the accounts of users who so much as question his new policies or his stand with Israel, the billionaire mogul showcases a clear double standard whereby the rules of free speech apply only when it suits Musk, turning “X” into an “online troll’s playground”.
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There are ongoing efforts to curb disinformation, but little is done in the way of speech moderation. Wired reports that there has been a “deluge of disinformation that has flooded social media, and in particular X, during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.” The discourse appears to be going from online to offline with Meta reports of employees calling out “toxic” rules that ban staff from discussing controversial topics like Israel–Palestine after an alleged investigation where one employee was “kicked out of internal systems”.
The Court of Public Opinion
People are perhaps more aware than ever of the plight of Palestinians who have suffered under Israel’s brutal apartheid system for years. Israel has dominated the narrative for years. The Palestinians have rarely been heard, and the story of the 7 October 2023 conflict, which resulted in the death of thousands of Palestinians, is now widely known.
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The ongoing genocide against innocent civilians is difficult to ignore, especially since most of the discussion is taking place online. This is because it is the only medium that allows people to see what is happening in real time on the frontlines. Israel’s public image is deteriorating as people are no longer able to ignore the active efforts to take control of Gaza. Israel has therefore increased its efforts to silence anyone who challenges their narrative. This is happening at the same time that TikTok, which is a platform with a large pro-Palestinian audience, is being actively questioned about its legality and usage.
Social media users across Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube and TikTok are accusing the platforms of censoring accounts or actively reducing the reach of pro-Palestine content — a practice known as shadowbanning — according to Al Jazeera. Posts containing hashtags like “#FreePalestine”, “#IStandWithPalestine” or the word “genocide” are being hidden by the platforms while some users have also accused Instagram, of taking down content that mentions Palestine for violating “community guidelines”.
The Insatiable Computer Animal
Money is a major factor in what we see. Posts that are sponsored or boosted gain more attention than those posted organically. You can buy a social media algorithm. Instagram also earns more money if they can keep their viewers on screen for longer. Complaints that “suggested reels” are sometimes overtly sexualised algorithms set to make the user lost in a sea of doomscrolling.
There are always two sides to a coin. Why are users more frustrated with social media after using the apps? Why are we as users being fed content we neither wanted nor were looking for, and who is benefiting from us seeing this curated “infotainment”? There is no glitch, but a system designed to keep you on the virtual hamster-wheel.
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