Weeding out fake news: an approach to social media regulation

"Social media are becoming the dominant source of information for significant parts of our societies. There are numerous positive aspects of these media, such as their ability to mobilise for a political cause and how they enable greater and quicker flows of ideas across societies.This paper fo...

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Main Author: Niklewicz, Konrad
Institution:ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
Format: TEXT
Language:English
Published: Brussels 2017
Martens Centre
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19399880124911170629-Weeding-out-fake-news-an-appro.htm
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author Niklewicz, Konrad
author_facet Niklewicz, Konrad
collection Library items
description "Social media are becoming the dominant source of information for significant parts of our societies. There are numerous positive aspects of these media, such as their ability to mobilise for a political cause and how they enable greater and quicker flows of ideas across societies.This paper focuses on those aspects of social media that negatively affect the public debate, such as the spreading of fake news and the creation of ‘echo chambers’ of like-minded users who become isolated from alternative opinions. The paper proposes that social media platforms should be considered media companies and that they should be regulated by modified versions of existing press laws, adapted to suit the new technology. The creation of a ‘notice and correct’ procedure, as it is tentatively called, would provide an effective tool to stop lies from spreading, allowing affected parties, public or private, to protect their rights. By making the social media platforms jointly responsible for the content they publish, governments would create the right incentives for companies to adapt their business models and modify the construction of their algorithms and policies. The paper outlines how such a procedure could function without constricting the freedom of speech. Finally, the paper stresses the improvement of e-literacy as an additional, viable and long-term solution to the problem of fake news."
format TEXT
geographic EU countries
id 19399880124911170629_96f461f7d6f540cea6dbc68deb2ae3ef
institution ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
is_hierarchy_id 19399880124911170629_96f461f7d6f540cea6dbc68deb2ae3ef
is_hierarchy_title Weeding out fake news: an approach to social media regulation
language English
physical 66 p.
Digital
publishDate 2017
publisher Brussels
Martens Centre
spellingShingle Niklewicz, Konrad
social media
information source
ethics
regulation
Weeding out fake news: an approach to social media regulation
thumbnail https://www.labourline.org/Image_prev.jpg?Archive=133513595179
title Weeding out fake news: an approach to social media regulation
topic social media
information source
ethics
regulation
url https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19399880124911170629-Weeding-out-fake-news-an-appro.htm