But the biggest problem with Twitter’s place in the news is its role in the production and dissemination of propaganda and misinformation. It keeps pushing conspiracy theories — and because lots of people in the media, not to mention many news consumers, don’t quite understand how it works, the precise mechanism is worth digging into. ~ Technology, New York Times
Facebook has been at the center of fake news stories and the resulting negative PR because its entire business model depends on and supports ad tech.
Ad money relies on views and clicks. So the more Facebook users “Like”, react and engage with content in the news feed, the more data gets fed into Facebook’s algorithms which are designed to put “engaging” posts and content in front of users. In other words, a filter bubble is naturally created to feed users with content that they believe in or support. Biases, prejudices and fake news get thrown into the mix if the algos think you’ll engage with it.
We are at the end of 2016 and this is my free tip to everyone – a repeat one to be exact. If you want to share a URL (from your blog or website perhaps) and your workflow involves using a link shortening service (such as Bit.ly, Ow.ly or another) – STOP.