Opinion | A reality distortion field that still reigns
23 April 2019 5:29 PM GMT
India seems to be losing the battle to hold off an avalanche of half-truths and outright lies on social media. The bitter reality is that these platforms have little incentive to act
- Five years down the line, as we are in the midst of the world's biggest elections , there are at least two new Facebook users for every user back then.
- Such vast numbers now consume fake news, propaganda and misinformation-through other online platforms as well-that many wonder if these polls will pivot on falsehoods.
- Today, the social media major's plan to tackle fake news with the help of seven fact-checking firms in India, going by a Bloomberg report, looks like a feeble attempt to ward off criticism rather than a robust strategy to tackle the issue.
- With increasing social movements afoot to contain the damage of mala fide "forwards", the market itself may evolve in a way that makes social media firms invest meaningful sums of money to fight fakes.
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