WASHINGTON: The world’s largest social networking website, Facebook, is said to have contributed to the victory of Donald Trump with a plethora of unchecked fake news about Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. New analysis by Pew Research Centre says more than 44 percent of Americans consulted Facebook to get information throughout the campaign cycle, which was replete with highly offensive, controversial and fake news about the Democratic candidate.
Conservatives and Trump supporters also delivered a regular dose of outright lies about Mrs. Clinton. They claimed she would soon be indicted because of her corruption and misuse of office. When Mrs. Clinton caught a fever, it was circulated that she was “so sick she had to be propped up on pillows”. The Democratic candidate was also linked to a paedophilia sex ring through Facebook posts, which were shared hundreds of thousands of times.
On the other hand, liberal users attacked Donald Trump with several fake news stories, but it was no match compared to what was posted against Mrs. Clinton. A couple of days ago, another fake news spread through Facebook that Mrs. Clinton had filed for divorce following her election defeat. Amid growing criticism, the company’s founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, downplayed fake news’ role in the election.
“Personally I think the idea that fake news on Facebook, which is a very small amount of the content, influenced the election in any way — I think is a pretty crazy idea,” Zuckerberg said at a conference, in California. He said the research by Facebook analysts suggested that presence of the fake news had not really been a problem. “People tend to have some friends with diverse opinions, but Facebook’s research shows people tend to ignore their posts. The biggest filter in the system is not that the content isn’t there, but just that you don’t click on it.”
Facebook vice president of product management said that they took misinformation on Facebook very seriously. He admitted that much more needed to be done to detect misinformation. “While the Internet has always been a breeding ground for misinformation and conspiracy theories, the walled gardens and massive user base of Facebook pose even deeper existential threats,” wrote Emily Peck, Executive Editor, Business and Technology, at The Huffington Post.
As anti-Trump protests continued in many cities from East to West Coast, key Democrats kept on needling President-elect Trump given his past statements and actions. The harshest reaction came from Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid on Friday who said Americans should not forget the hatred and fear the president-elect brought to the country. “If this is going to be a time of healing, we must first put the responsibility for healing where it belongs: at the feet of Donald Trump, a sexual predator who lost the popular vote and fuelled his campaign with bigotry and hate,” Reid said. He said winning the Electoral College did not absolve Trump of the grave sins he committed against millions of Americans. “Donald Trump may not possess the capacity to assuage those fears, but he owes it to this nation to try,” said the Senator who’s retiring in next few months.
On Thursday, Trump visited the White House and had meeting with President Barack Obama. He called the president a ‘very fine man’, and President Obama assured his full support for a smooth transition of power. Since winning the election, Trump remained courteous and polite. However, late Thursday night he logged on to his Twitter account and lashed out at protestors and the media. “Just had a very open and successful presidential election. Now professional protesters, incited by the media, are protesting. Very unfair!” Trump tweeted.