Social media offers anyone with a smartphone the capability to launch an online platform to inform, educate, influence, and, most of the time, manipulate. A microphone in the hands of these hosts of convenience is more dangerous than a weapon in the hands of a child.
As seen on social media is becoming the new way of staying current with the latest news, technology, and celebrities. People are shaping, living, and planning their future based on what they watch on social networks.
Hello, I am Bobb Rousseau and this is Apostrophe Podcast. Today’s episode discusses the rise of social media and how people should protect themselves from misinformation and false propaganda.
Social media offers anyone with a smartphone the capability to launch an online platform to inform, educate, influence, and, most of the time, manipulate. A microphone in the hands of these hosts of convenience is more dangerous than a weapon in the hands of a child.
Social media decentralizes how individuals get their news and allow anyone to push their agenda on an impressionable audience. Such democratization opens a canal for false propaganda, misinformation, defamation, and shade-throwing.
Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube Live have become so prevalent in the broadcasting field that they, hands down, make traditional media platforms look like kindergarteners. Nowadays, to keep listeners engaged, radio stations are investing thousands of dollars and unlimited resources in managing their video channels. “There is no longer radio without images,” one might say.
With the ease of reaching broader audiences comes the challenging responsibility to deliver content that maintains journalism’s integrity or does not communicate offensive or defamatory statements that may harm someone’s reputation.
Few online radio hosts bump against the thin line between reporting factual statements and untrue statements. In contrast, others deliberately act with actual malice to demonstrate a total reckless disregard for others’ reputations. The latter’s goal is not to inform or educate but to create sensation and, ultimately, to feed public opinion with news that seemingly only they can find. They claim they are well connected to have the primacy of the country’s political temperament.
The danger is that they succeed, and in no time, they build a growing network of friends and followers that proudly like, subscribe, retweet, and share their content across other platforms.
Few of them respect the press etiquette and, in many instances, are even better than many big-name veteran radio hosts. Still, the majority are doing a disservice to the profession by fabricating content deprived of good sense and reason, making them fall into the defamation category.
Contrary to traditional radio hosts whose content may engage the actual radio stations, online broadcasters are neither censored nor do they engage their social platforms. Thus, listeners can sift their feeds to ensure they are authentic, reasonable, and utile. Otherwise, we leave the field wide open to cultivate statements that cause more harm than good and transform the microphone into a time-sensitive bomb.
In summary, in this episode, I discussed the power of social media and how it can be used to manipulate and influence people’s behaviors. I emphasized the importance of being aware of the messages we’re receiving on social media, as anyone with a smartphone can be an influencer, and the microphone in their hands can be more dangerous than a weapon in the hands of a child. I pointed out that social media has decentralized how people get their news, and it’s essential to be mindful of the agenda of those pushing their messages on an impressionable audience. I cautioned you to be vigilant and not let anyone mislead us.
Bobb Rousseau, PhD
Apostrophe Podcast
Hello, I am Bobb Rousseau and this is Apostrophe Podcast. Today’s episode discusses the rise of social media and how people should protect themselves from misinformation and false propaganda.
Social media offers anyone with a smartphone the capability to launch an online platform to inform, educate, influence, and, most of the time, manipulate. A microphone in the hands of these hosts of convenience is more dangerous than a weapon in the hands of a child.
Social media decentralizes how individuals get their news and allow anyone to push their agenda on an impressionable audience. Such democratization opens a canal for false propaganda, misinformation, defamation, and shade-throwing.
Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube Live have become so prevalent in the broadcasting field that they, hands down, make traditional media platforms look like kindergarteners. Nowadays, to keep listeners engaged, radio stations are investing thousands of dollars and unlimited resources in managing their video channels. “There is no longer radio without images,” one might say.
With the ease of reaching broader audiences comes the challenging responsibility to deliver content that maintains journalism’s integrity or does not communicate offensive or defamatory statements that may harm someone’s reputation.
Few online radio hosts bump against the thin line between reporting factual statements and untrue statements. In contrast, others deliberately act with actual malice to demonstrate a total reckless disregard for others’ reputations. The latter’s goal is not to inform or educate but to create sensation and, ultimately, to feed public opinion with news that seemingly only they can find. They claim they are well connected to have the primacy of the country’s political temperament.
The danger is that they succeed, and in no time, they build a growing network of friends and followers that proudly like, subscribe, retweet, and share their content across other platforms.
Few of them respect the press etiquette and, in many instances, are even better than many big-name veteran radio hosts. Still, the majority are doing a disservice to the profession by fabricating content deprived of good sense and reason, making them fall into the defamation category.
Contrary to traditional radio hosts whose content may engage the actual radio stations, online broadcasters are neither censored nor do they engage their social platforms. Thus, listeners can sift their feeds to ensure they are authentic, reasonable, and utile. Otherwise, we leave the field wide open to cultivate statements that cause more harm than good and transform the microphone into a time-sensitive bomb.
In summary, in this episode, I discussed the power of social media and how it can be used to manipulate and influence people’s behaviors. I emphasized the importance of being aware of the messages we’re receiving on social media, as anyone with a smartphone can be an influencer, and the microphone in their hands can be more dangerous than a weapon in the hands of a child. I pointed out that social media has decentralized how people get their news, and it’s essential to be mindful of the agenda of those pushing their messages on an impressionable audience. I cautioned you to be vigilant and not let anyone mislead us.
Bobb Rousseau, PhD
Apostrophe Podcast