Is it the duty of social media platforms to address and counteract misinformation?

[Shortie]

We know that social media is one of the worst places for misinformation and fake news but it seems that it is not clear as to who should be held accountable when things like that are posted that cause issues.

Do you feel that social media platforms should be held accountable when it comes to the posting of fake news or misinformation?

 

[arunima]

That's debatable. When it comes to social media platforms, they have a huge number of users and keeping check on each and everyone would be impossible. To stop the fake news and misinformation, the contents have to be evaluated before being posted. If that would happen, many users would not be interested in staying on the platform. They want freedom of expression. And would do everything for that. Users should have social media discipline and realise that it is their social and moral responsibility to avoid posting such things and not circulate it further. What social media platforms can do at the most is to remove such videos and contents as soon as they find it to be fake news or some misinformation or anything that might hamper the harmony in the society.

 

[Kross]

For most social media platform, there are disclaimers people that whatever position or information an individual takes, the individual has to take responsibility for it. That automatically takes the burden of misinformation away from the social media platform.

With that reality, there is absolutely nothing social media platforms can do to stop misinformation. It is a democratic arrangement for people to say whatever they feel ungagged. It is the responsibility of the person that consumes the information to ensure that he or she is not being misinformed.

 

[Fidelia]

Trying to counter misinformation by a social media platform would erode the freedom of speech the social media so much projects. That's why Facebook would leave your misinformation there. It is the responsibility of individuals to know what they post. That the platform can't hold you accountable doesn't mean that if it contravenes national and human security and wellbeing, security agencies would not pick you up. They surely would.