Recently as more and more people have started using different social media, many have begun to turn to these platforms as a source for news. However, this can often lead to confusion because although information on these sites is easily accessible and spreads quickly, it is not always accurate.
This has become increasingly common on apps such as TikTok, X and others as anyone can create an account and post content without first needing to verify the truthfulness of the content being posted. Together these factors make it difficult for users to determine which information is false or true especially when posts with false information seem professional.
Misinformation on social media has become a much serious problem and should be addressed accordingly. The spread of false information has become too easy through social media platforms which has the potential to begin to cause harm to people.
Social media platforms must take steps towards preventing the continued spread of misinformation. Accounts that frequently post misinformation must be flagged and taken down in order to stop the practice of spreading false information.
One major reason misinformation is able to be spread easily is the use of fake accounts. On TikTok, many accounts will impersonate reputable organizations such as ESPN or House of Highlights with matching logos, names and even verification checks at times. Many of these accounts will spread news of fake trades or big events that never occurred, while still gathering thousands of likes and tricking thousands of people.
Another reason misinformation is easily spread is social media’s algorithms. Due to false information often having attention grabbing headlines or shocking information these posts often get interacted with a lot by users. This then further causes social media’s algorithms to share these fraudulent posts which further spreads misinformation.
Misinformation can have very harmful effects. People who read false political news online may be influenced to vote a particular way, while misinformation about health or science can cause people to make uninformed or poor decisions. In addition fake stories during public events can cause unwarranted anger or backlash on social media. Misinformation is especially harmful as once it is spread it is difficult to reverse its effects and many people fail to verify if what they are reading is correct.
However, some may argue that by regulating misinformation on social media we would also be limiting free speech. They believe that people should be able to post or share whatever they want on social media as long as it is not necessarily hateful. They also claim that it is the responsibility of social media users to fact check information that they are receiving and that regulating information is not the responsibility of the social media platforms.
Although it is important for people to maintain free speech and users should verify what they learn on social media, there still must be regulation. Social media companies already have some capacity to regulate content on their sites and this should be broadened to also regulate misinformation.
Misinformation has grown too prevalent and regulating it does not eliminate free speech. In addition to this, users must also be smarter with what accounts they trust and ensure that they verify news that seems suspicious or any information that could influence them.
