Poynter Report author Tom Jones is on vacation and will return Wednesday. Today’s Poynter Report was compiled by Kristen Hare, Rick Edmonds and Ren LaForme.
Social media often catches blame for increasing political polarization in the United States. Does it deserve that reputation? A new study from New York University’s Stern Center for Business and Human Rights finds that it does.
“We conclude that Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are not the original or main cause of rising U.S. political polarization, a phenomenon that long predates the social media industry. But use of those platforms intensifies divisiveness and thus contributes to its corrosive consequences,” the report says.
Without internal or government reforms, the researchers say, partisan hatred will continue to have “dire consequences,” including further trust lost in institutions, the continued proliferation of misinformation and more real-world violence like the Jan. 6 insurrection.
The researchers recommend several ways to reform social media, including investing in alternative social media platforms, empowering the Federal Trade Commission to enforce standards and tweaking algorithms to stop rewarding inflammatory content.
This week marks two new examples of the trend to outsourced newspaper printing — one big, one odd.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will move printing early next year to The Gainesville Times, 55 miles to the northeast. That will result in the loss of 97 full-time and 119 part-time jobs,...
Read Full Story: https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2021/social-media-platforms-drive-partisan-political-polarization-in-the-us-study-finds/
Your content is great. However, if any of the content contained herein violates any rights of yours, including those of copyright, please contact us immediately by e-mail at media[@]kissrpr.com.