“Fake News” — two words that have become synonymous with Donald Trump and his 2016 bid for the presidency. Some wholeheartedly believed it, some cast it aside as irrelevant, and others avidly denied it. Yet, President Trump was right. Fake news is real, but not necessarily in the way that most imagine. In the 2016 election, […]
Tag: Facebook
The Conflict of Curation
“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” George Orwell in his dystopian 1984 warns that the mediums through which individuals receive their news, political history and current events hold influential power. Today, while sources of news have never been as present, the mediums in which individuals receive the […]
Capitol Hill or Silicon Valley? Big Tech’s Growing Influence in Political Arena
Since its inception as the the hub of innovation, Silicon Valley has primarily been known as a bastion of promising startups, cutting-edge technology, and endless wealth. Lesser known, however, is the influence companies and their respective CEOs wield in the field of politics. Uber has both revolutionized the driving world, given the taxi industry steep […]
A Second Look: Shaping Public Opinion
By now, most of the world has heard the story of Ahmed Mohamed. On September 14, 2015, this high school freshman brought a homemade clock contraption, complete with a ticking timer, to school. A teacher who thought the device was suspicious reported it to the principal, who then called police. Police questioned Ahmed for about […]
Don’t Snooze, S-News!
While one might not see applications like Facebook, Twitter, or even Snapchat as anything more than entertainment, that perception is changing as more and more of these companies creatively combine knowledge of current events alongside the entertainment options they offer. Popular applications such as Facebook and Twitter incorporate news and current events headlines into their […]
Not Another Hashtag: Social Media’s Failure to Fight #BokoHaram
The power of social media can only extend so far. While our tweets, Facebook statuses, and tumblr posts may be effective at generating publicity, their effectiveness at actually catalyzing change is questionable. A recent example of social media’s failure to catalyze tangible change is the “Bring Back Our Girls” campaign that dominated twitter this past […]