Twitter (still can’t bring myself to call it X), and now Facebook. Letting go of social responsibility to omit fact-checking. But why?
Social media platforms primarily generate revenue through advertising driven by user engagement. Content that goes viral — including misinformation — often creates high engagement through likes, shares, and comments. Controversial or emotionally charged content has a tendency towards virality.
While comprehensive fact-checking would require significant investment in staff, systems, and partnerships, the immediate costs of not fact-checking (such as occasional advertiser boycotts or reputational damage) have seemed to have been lower than the potential loss of engagement and ad revenue that stricter content moderation would cause.
While the financial situation could shift as regulations tighten, advertisers become more demanding about brand safety, and users grow more concerned about information quality, which doesn’t seem to be a concern. Especially given the current political climate.
Michael's Musings 