Regulation of Fake News by Social Media Companies
Introduction
Media is one of the essential institutions in the modern era, which has undergone significant transformations from the past. Media, which can be in different forms such as television, internet, radio, or newspaper, has the role and responsibility of supplying different views and ideas that shape culture and viewpoint differently. The rapid growth of technology has created different platforms that have converged and transformed media into digital formats, primarily through the internet’s help. Inevitably, the media transformation has also resulted in policy transformation and ramification to enhance the media’s adequate regulation. The regulators are revisiting and ramifying the existing media policies and principles because they are becoming porous due to digitization and media convergence. This research aims to describe the importance of social media policy to reduce the dissemination of fake news.
Media policies are government formulated regulations and policies for specific countries for application to the media systems. They are formulated due to the pressure from the people to develop goals and actions related to media to express and solve the current conflicting and problematic issues. Media policies are formed at the national level are influenced by political parties, unions, and the media industry when deciding access. The political and cultural affects the policy regulation in different levels by sponsoring media provision and also largely determines the process of decision making. This research paper will describe social media regulation by the government and media companies to avoid the distribution of fake news. Regulation consist of different forms such as national laws, administrative procedures, and specifications to govern both external and internal activities
The media industry should manage its resources to enhance efficiency, effectiveness, and adequate dissemination of information. Media policy is crucial to maximizing opportunities as it creates strategy, confidence, and clarifies the message, which positively impacts the business. Media policymakers face challenges when regulating media ownership effectively, providing diverse content to sustain politically. The advancement of technology in the medic=a industry has created restrictions and interventions that govern media use to rely on information to people. Media regulation, especially social media, press, and television, is the process of controlling and guiding the process of disseminating information by establishing rules, policies, and procedures applied by the owners and government. The regulation establishes to intervene to enhance the provision of accurate and efficient information.
Social Media Policies
Media policy and regulation began with regulating the printing presses to the current new dimension of internet media through social sites. This expansion of the media dimension means that regulations have to be changed to ensure the frameworks and conditions are amended to reflect the current political and economic priorities in the world.
Media is regulated even though freedom of expression and information exists to set a limit to the provided freedom and democratic principle of society. The main reason why media is regulated to manage economic resources from the vast emergency information through many forms of communication. Also, regulation enhances the protection of the public and individuals through the promotion of effective and efficient communication systems to maintain effective operations of freedom of information and expression.
Media policy refers to the description of developed legislation, government regulations, and political actions directed to regulating the different media platforms based on the pressure from the citizen or unions. Regulating the media involves putting in place policies and rules that govern activities and operations to limit the information communicated to maintain good relationships by preventing bad experiences through communication and interaction. Social media policy regulates details about the sharing of information to avoid defamatory and inflammatory. The regulation of social media policies involves creating legislation on intent, which is implemented as a law or procedure to govern the communication and sharing of social media information.
Power relationships in social media
The media is highly controlled by the countries politics, which means that the content of information communicated to the public is apolitical. Most news media focuses on politics, which means that the population does not get quality information to enhance development. The media also provides a lot of entertainment news such as lifestyle, gossip about current affairs, and fashion, which distract the population from making beneficial decisions for personal development.
Therefore the news from all the Medias is becoming apolitical or entertaining, which reduces the content of news which the public needs and are interested. Therefore the social media platforms’ policies make sure the apolitical and entertainment news is diminished to create room for people to discuss issues and ideas that are beneficial and results in development. Influential people are also susceptible to media influences. They use the media to portray their conflicts, and personal goals rather than adhering to the media rules and only provide information that promotes development through the media to the public.
Power distribution in social media
Propagandas and theories influence media; therefore, media policies are put in place to avoid media failure and deceit of the public by providing false information. In modern society, media using the new digestion of relying on information is still affected by providing distorted and fake information. Therefore, re-evaluating the policies regulates activities to avoid the spread of inadequate information to citizens. Media systems controlled by the powerful lacks input from the public, which makes them vulnerable to public backlash and is voided because they are unfair and misuses the media resources. Therefore, enhancing power equality in social media makes sure the systems are fair, and every person has equal dominion to the media systems to share any quality and relevant information.
The influential people in society have infiltrated the leading news corporations. They have been able to influence and control their decision through funding the companies so that their interests can be in line with the powerful. Therefore the media owners lose control and ownership of their medias organization and just do what they are instructed. The robust finances the media companies to gain leadership over media companies to make sure they are not contradicted on the news to provide and share with the people. Developing social media policies makes sure leadership and power are distributed equally to ensure every critical news is shared with the population to enhance development.
Media policies developers urge that the people in charge of communication and sharing of information should be blamed for the biasness that exists in the media because they are responsible for controlling the activities and information being disseminated to the public. The media twists the truth and gives false and fake information to the public, especially those in power. Rather than concentrating on meeting the public’s interest, the propaganda the information on behalf of the powerful who controls the media. Therefore creating regulations and policies that govern social media makes sure there is a similar presentation of the powerful and minority in the media. The policies make sure there is no dominant class of people in the media, which limits the influences enhancing the dissemination of accurate information.
The regulation of fake news by media companies through setting policies makes sure there is an equal influence of ideas in the media. Equal dominance makes sure the best idea irrespective of the source s used by the media to communicate truthful information to the public. Equality in social media power distribution enhances diversity and new ideologies apart from the trending affairs in the society or country, which encourages promotion and developments.
Social media paradigms
Media provides people with comprehensive knowledge and information to understand media power throughout the decades through the paradigms of media power. Paradigms explain the ideas that are put together to create a specific perspective about a problem faced by the people. The four paradigms about media power provide different understanding and perspective to be able to understand the connection between media and power in this period of social media platforms
The Consensus paradigm
The consensus theory of media and power argues that media allows broad communication to the public due to democracies to be able to compete with other organizations that provide a comprehensive variety of services enhancing diversity, high quality, variety, media systems that satisfy the information needs of the customers. The Consensus paradigm is governed by policies and laws that ensure the media system does not abuse its power, and power issues that arise are corrected to achieve the public’s interest. The theory achieves this through enhancing healthy democracies and agreements to make sure the media is stable with adequate power through the governance of policies that deal with any instances of abuse of media power. Social media are prone to the communication of fake news, which is considered as abuse of power; therefore, policies developed are implemented in such cases to prevent abuse of power by communicating and sharing fake news with the public.
Chaos paradigm
The transformation of the social media has developed robust dimensions which dispute the existing media structures. Therefore due to this change, considerable uncertainty and opportunity which involves communication and when not adequately managed can cause chaos. The changes are happening in the media cause disruptions that focus on the media transformation over time, especially the new dimension of media such as internets and Social media systems. Digitization of media comes with disruption which, when not adequately managed and through regulations and legislation, causes chaos. The Chaos theory assumes that the developments of technological advances have changed the old media power because every person can now communicate information through social media platforms. The old structure of media is challenged, and the new dimensions developed opportunities that cause dispersal of power beyond the consensus model of operations.
The emergency of digital media and the internet has resulted in online communication and sharing of information, which may be fake, affecting the available opportunities for business development, economic growth, and democratic communication within a country. Regulation of fake news by social media companies is crucial to reduce chaos. The government and media industry should regulate the destructive character of social media forms of communication because to reduce the struggle and power in the online media systems. Online media have higher power concentrations, which increase the chaos in these media platforms, making it hard to control the information being disseminated.
The fake news through social media should be regulated to ensure they do not cause destructive effects on the available opportunities and relationships.
Control paradigm
The control paradigm explains the aspect of media and power in the media. It assumes that power in the media systems is not equally distributed, resulting in unequal representation with more significant interest for those with a higher power. There is a distribution of uneven and fake information because on the powerful, original ideas are reflected and communicated while other ideas are ignored. Leadership and power in the media require regular renewal to enhance control of information being disseminated to the public. The media policy regulates the power in the media by ensuring there is equal consideration of ideas from all interested people rather than concentrating and prioritizing those with higher economic power. The policies make sure every person’s idea is heard, accepted, and not dismissed. Their ideas are relevant compared to the fake news provided by those in power through social media.
Regulating the media to enhance control is faced with challenges that make it hard to achieve, especially in current technological advancement and political systems, which interfere with power distribution in the media. The regulation of fake news by social media is a policy that helps to understand the media distribution of power and how those in power should make sure fake information is not communicated to the people.
The well-off in the country controls the hindering media dissemination of quality content and exposure, which hinders mobilization of the public from enhancing democracy in the media resulting in the communication of fake news, which causes misunderstanding and confusion among the population. It hinders the development of better programs because adequate and relevant information is blocked from reaching the public.
The contradiction paradigm
The contradiction aspect of media explains the power concentration by those in control to make sure they are not obsessed with wasting and exporting the media resources for their benefits. The changes in media dimension to online social media have enhanced behavior changes, which are crucial to understanding how the provision of information using social media can change the societies. The regulation of fake news by social media companies involves developing policies that focus on changes to enhance development by reducing power inequalities.
Conclusion
The public cannot grab the opportunity for the available opportunity because they get distorted, false, and inadequate information, which hinders their ability to develop effective strategies and solutions to current issues they face. Also, biasness in the media leads to misinforming the public about the issues they face. In the modern era, the public has realized that the media have been propagandized and influenced by the powerful; therefore, they fight back to influence the powerful rather than being influenced. Additionally, the media have developed and implemented policies to give voice and adequately share the public need and interest in enhancing development through the media. Therefore developing media policies is crucial to govern and regulate the operations and activities to make sure the public receives beneficial information for personal, social, and country economic development.