Twitter's attempt to combat false claims and fake news, or at least "provide context", has turned into something of a punchline. And some brands are even getting in on the joke.[1]
Is this clever messaging, or undermining Twitter's efforts to fact-check. What are the responsibilities for companies such as Twitter to perform such a function? It seems like just a harmless joke, but if the effort isn't taken seriously it may be abandoned. A study has demonstrated that exposure to social media can make consumers of news more biased. [2] This alone would seem to indicate that some responsibility lies with these platforms to do something about falsehoods. Or is the responsibility on our news institutions that seem to have struggled to adapt to a world with social media, and in a post-truth era. How do we as consumers navigate this new world?
Perhaps being able to find humor in a situation is the best way to acknowledge that there is an issue. I personally feel the posts are riding a very thin line, and time will judge how such posts age.
Sources:
[1] https://adage.com/article/digital/brands-have-fun-claim-disputed-twitter-meme/2295311
[2] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/hbe2.185
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