During her acceptance speech for half of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, Rappler CEO Maria Ressa blasted some social media companies for spreading misinformation as well turning the platform into an ugly, toxic place.
According to Ressa, social media companies have “allowed a virus of lies to infect each of us, pitting us against each other, bringing out our fears, anger and hate, and setting the stage for the rise of authoritarians and dictators around the world.”
"Our greatest need today is to transform that hate and violence, the toxic sludge that's coursing through our information ecosystem, prioritized by American internet companies that make more money by spreading that hate and triggering the worst in us," she said.
She goes on to say that some companies "are biased against facts, biased against journalists. They are --by design-- dividing us and radicalizing us."
Love her or hate her, whether or not you think she deserves the award or are convinced it was just orchestrated by the US, it’s hard to disagree with her points.
Far from the medium to bring people together as it may first have been envisioned, social media now makes it easier to draw lines between people with differing ideas and opinions. It makes it easier for people to determine who they can hate or ostracize, and to tell them so too.
Some platforms have also become more of an online slugfest where people don’t seem to respect the opinion of other people, or just plain don’t respect other people at all.
Do we even have to mention how social media can distort the truth or amplify lies? A good part of the misinformation about COVID-19 as well as the vaccines for it were spread using social media.
But while Ressa may entirely lay the blame on social media companies, we don’t see it that way. We believe internet users like most of us also have some responsibility in what is happening.
Think of social media as any other tool, even a gun, which can also be called a tool. In the hands of those who are responsible it can be used for good, in the hands of those who aren’t, only bad things can happen.
Even if some companies are able to manipulate information, opinion, or even emotions, if people know how to use such tools wisely, then situations where hate, fear, or lies rule can be avoided.