Paper Example. Facebook Role in Fake News Propagation

Fake news within the social media platforms is not something new. None of the social media platforms has come out to introduce the fact-checking policy in their accounts. This failure to fact-check or introduce such a policy has led to the further proliferation of fake news on these platforms. Facebook Fake News has had the power to shape among other things politics. In this case, study, it is only important to discuss how Facebook a social media platform has taken part in the proliferation of fake news.

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Case Study Selection and Explanation

One of the stories of the presidential elections of 2016 in the US was the spread of fake news. According to news analysts during the same period, Facebook was largely used to spread fake news. Apart from this news, which was one of the largest involving Facebook, there is other NEWS that has been contributed directly by the aid of Facebook. The choice of the topic on the role of Fb propagation has remained controversial since 2016. Discussing this topic not only provides an insight into what Facebook being a company has denied but also, warns users on any possibility of being duped into accepting scams and news that they cannot handle. It is for the mentioned reason above that the topic becomes suitable for discussion.

Ethical and Legal Issues in the Facebook Case Study

Few ethical issues can be associated with the Facebook propagation of fake news. However, a few legal issues can be associated with Facebook and its role in the propagation of Fake News. The first legal issue is concerned with the first amendment. Fact-checking or Facebook's fault in failing to identify fake news articles is considered a massive user data breach (Moore et al., 2018). The massive user data breach is considered a legal issue regarding the unprecedented scale of the users who access the platform. For instance, in the case of 2016, Facebook allowed its users to access targeted advertisements regarding the presidential elections. It is the advertisement information that was used to influence election results. Something that is supposed to be a turning point for America's democracy was limited. This limitation is identified as a manipulation of the age of the elections and their voters.

Another ethical issue is the issue of manipulation. Facebook can be used to manipulate the minds of users. Politicians to influence voters can use harvested information from Facebook. Additionally, Facebook has been used as a tool for propaganda. People with little or no information regarding politics might use the platform as a tool to propagate their ideas regarding politics. Influencing the mind of voters to think a certain way is ethically wrong.

The Reason Why the Case Study Is Important

Voters and anyone, therefore, should be allowed to make decisions based on their policies and not be influenced in any way. A study of this case will help find possible mitigations for a destroyed political system. To solve the rot in our political country and system, it is only important to focus on the study and further, identify ways in which social media has been used to propagate not only rot in the political system but other forms in which the propaganda might have been pushed forward.

Related articles

To find important information regarding the mentioned topic, there is every need to seek related articles. To offer theoretical and empirical background regarding this topic, the following articles are important. The first article is "Lapses in Facebook Public Conduct," which was found through a thorough such conducted on the Guardian online platform (Cadwalladr, 2019). The text is important in helping identify lapses in Facebook public conduct that will help in leading a mass of not only voters but also users astray. The second article is titled, "How to Facebook Continues to spread fake news", and searches on the platform of politics of the New Yorker magazine (Cadwalladr, & Graham-Harrison, 2018). The online texts will be essential in predicting the possible ways that Facebook is used to influence the political elections and decisions of 2016. Finally, a text titled, "Working to stop misinformation and false news," focuses on the three key issues that can be a working solution towards the spread of fake news on the internet (Guess et al., 2019).

In conclusion, using this analysis can be the perfect solution to the fight launched on limiting Facebook on political propaganda and political misconceptions. In the future, there should be measures to curb the unethical use of Facebook; this can be achieved through the introduction of fact-checking policy in all accounts.

References

Cadwalladr, C. (2019). What happened when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez came face to face with Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg? The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/oct/26/what-happened-when-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-came-face-to-face-with-facebooks-mark-zuckerberg

Cadwalladr, C., & Graham-Harrison, E. (2018). Revealed: 50 million Facebook profiles harvested for Cambridge Analytica in a major data breach. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/17/cambridge-analytica-facebook-influence-us-election

Guess, A., Nagler, J., & Tucker, J. (2019). Less than you think: Prevalence and predictors of fake news dissemination on Facebook. Science advances, 5(1), eaau4586. https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/1/eaau4586?rss=1&fbclid=IwAR0AnmmBOuikMvGya9AUs3Zd0418CI4aeKLocjhhPfZIQJcgXbGyw3Ix-nE

Moore, R. L., Murray, M. D., Farrell, J. M., & Youm, K. H. (2018). Media Law and Ethics (5th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge. https://www.dlsl.edu.ph/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/September-2019.pdf