The advancement in social media has revolutionised communication, both in terms of technology and content. Social networking site Facebook is taking over the mainstream media’s sphere of influence, but the site does not seem to have a plan to fulfil ethical responsibility of professional journalism. As fancy technological gadgets, mostly mobile phones, are taking control of our social lives, social media is gaining importance in our daily decision making and worldview. From political participation to buying groceries, our decisions are being controlled by social media advertisements and discourse. The concept of a free market of ideas is not relevant anymore.
The abusers of social media include trolls and hate groups that are often paid by political parties or governments to malign opponents online. With the recent study from Freedom House showing that more than 30 countries are using ‘armies of opinion shapers’, an available workforce at as low as 10$ per day, the need to investigate the problem and find solutions has become imperative. More alarming is the fact that this trend is on the rise. The addition of 7 more abusers of power from last year is worrisome.
The rise of social media as a negative force in an increasingly retribalising world, with the alt right on the march forward, needs to be checked. This is the responsibility of the owners of the social media networks as well as the global citizenry. We need to reshape our minds according to the global reach of our voices through the newly available platforms for universal interaction. We can either move into a world inhabited by a people believing in universal democracy, as envisioned by George Herbert Mead, or spiral down into the abyss of tribalism, defending our narrow interests within the gloomy frames of nationalism. The choice is in fact not ours. We have responsibilities towards humanity.
We need to reshape our minds according to the global reach of our voices made possible through newly available platforms for universal interaction. We can either move into a world inhabited by a people believing in universal democracy, as envisioned by George Herbert Mead, or spiral down into the abyss of tribalism, defending our narrow interests within the gloomy frames of nationalism
The world needs a holistic vision, which can no longer be formed by exhortations from the West to humanise the proverbial East. We all need to shed our skins to be reborn as humans. There is no Orient or Occident anymore. Knowledge and culture could not be compartmentalised anymore into frames of modern, which is mostly white, and backward, which is the coloured majority of human race. This doesn’t mean that we need to replace one with the other. But rather we need to accept it all and understand it without preconceptions. The realisation within the social media sites owners, people like Mark Zuckerberg, is very important. They can’t nonchalantly play with the present and future of the world, saying they are no publishers, stressing they are only a platform giving room to the plurality of opinion. They don’t have the right to say so after compromising their nonpartisan position every now and then.
And even if they have remained impartial, the abuse of the platforms is naturally a problem the owners and money minters need to address. One cannot brush aside the issues created by the new media by using palatable euphemisms. If hate speech is on the rise through the social media platforms, governments are divesting the people from their democratic rights of freedom of choice through manipulating their opinion on the one hand while clamping down on freedom of speech and expression on the other. This is a huge problem which needs to be addressed. And the responsibility of the tech giants doesn’t simply end here. They also need to find ways to make the social media an instrument of democratic change and global cohesion. This is the only choice they have. And this is also the duty we have to attend to. The prejudices and pretensions of racism, bigotry, and hate cannot be sold by wrapping these in packages of fancy jargon. The proof of us all being human need to be demonstrated. A speech in one of the dominant languages in the world or by a colour of dominance will not serve the purpose anymore.
The strength of social media lies in the universal access to life and its facets. One can’t hide behind any pretension. Neither people nor governments and societies could escape the eye of the global populace. We all have to act proactively to ensure universal spread of freedom and equality. Not simply for our own clans and lands, but for all. The need of the world is thought promotion instead of thought policing. Social media should be a platform for the promotion of plurality without prejudice and judgment. The rulers of the social media have a responsibility towards the users of the platforms. This is the only commitment that could absolve them from their crimes of omission.
The writer holds a PhD from the Institute of KMW, University of Leipzig, Germany. He has had a long career as a working journalist and trainer. Currently, he is Professor of Journalism at the University of Peshawar
Published in Daily Times, November 17th 2017.