There’s a tension between facilitating free and fair debate on social media, and businesses’ bottom line. And it must be resolved with the public interest in mind.
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Articles on Social media misuse
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A Meta spokesperson told The Conversation non-news pages had been taken down by mistake. Whistleblower allegations contradict this.
Musk has long touted Twitter’s potential as an open and inclusive ‘town square’ for public discourse – but the reality is social media platforms were never meant to fulfil this role.
Twitter, more than other social media platforms, fosters real-time discussion about events as they unfold. That could change now that Musk has gained control of the company.
Twitter, more than other social media platforms, fosters real-time discussion about events as they unfold. That could change if Musk gains control of the company.
It took Facebook nearly six hours to get its services back online. In the meantime, Twitter had a field day.
A social psychologist explains how to avoid being misled, and how to prevent yourself – and others – from spreading inaccurate information.
Facebook benefits financially from misinformation spreading on its platform. As long as it puts profits ahead of public good, the tilting of the political landscape will persist.
As more comes to light about the money-making tactics of social media platforms we need to reevaluate our relationship with them.
Having an end-to-end encrypted messaging ‘ecosystem’ is a great way for Facebook to evade the full wrath of the law. It has come at a convenient time, too.
The platform also took down another 2,000 communities, including left-leaning groups. The move comes just months ahead of the 2020 US presidential election.
Twitter’s proposed policy would result in the prolific spread of fabricated, but highly realistic images and videos. This could allow widespread misinformation on the platform.
Sometimes it feels like everybody on social media is fighting about what’s “right” and what’s “wrong”. Well, figuring out why we all have such unique opinions is now helping experts tackle fake news.
Warning about anonymous messaging app YOLO miss the potential benefits it could have.
Just 5% of US adults say using social media is good for their mental health. A psychologist offers some tips to help the other 95%.
While the “Christchurch Call” summit has made concrete progress, we need to keep up the pressure on social media companies to become more transparent and accountable.
Young people turn to social media for support and encouragement, when society fails to help.
Research shows that the sense of belonging provided by platforms like Facebook trumps our distrust of social media.
Facebook has been acting irresponsibly and selfishly, and promising to do better without actually improving. But that’s not the whole story: The company has some positive qualities, too.
While they may talk about ‘free speech,’ businesses make decisions about their content based on a very different set of principles.
Top contributors
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Professor of Information Systems, Michigan State University
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Director of UWA Centre for Software Practice, The University of Western Australia
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Professor of Internet Studies, Curtin University
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Senior Lecturer in Applied Ethics & CyberSecurity, Griffith University
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Associate professor in regulation and governance, UNSW Sydney
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Senior Lecturer in Media Psychology, University of Salford
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Reader in Marketing, Brunel University London
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Professor of Information Technology and Organisation, University of Sydney
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Senior Lecturer, Journalism and Digital Communication, University of Central Lancashire
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Lecturer, Computer and Security Science,Edith Cowan University, Edith Cowan University
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Professor of Psychology, Bridgewater State University
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Associate Professor in Social Sciences, University of Canberra
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Associate professor, The University of Queensland
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Professor of Media Studies, Queensland University of Technology
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Lecturer in Medical Anthropology, University of Birmingham
