Assessing communication trends of 2021 and trying to look ahead, into 2022, surely the direction of social media is at the center of the discussion. And the reason is not just their continued rapid growth, but the also growing – and justified – debate over misinformation that has been identified as their main problem.
In an extremely interesting article in the American edition of The Conversation, three experts, university professors present their views on the subject and their – not very optimistic – conclusions can be summarized in three main areas.
First, the absence of a stricter regulatory framework, which will enhance transparency and prevent social media abuse, is seen as necessary to curb the misinformation that often reinforces racist views and hate speech.
Second, the intensification of the spread of fake news is expected to have catastrophic consequences both in terms of widening the gap between social groups with opposing views and in terms of citizens adopting more cynical attitudes and shaking their trust in political systems.
Third, as long as it goes out of control, misinformation will turn into regular propaganda – a tool for advancing one or the other political agenda.
It seems, then, that much will be decided in the near future by whether social media will be able to get rid of such a corrosive phenomenon as misinformation.
