#42 The Test of Truth: Is Social Media More Credible Than Mainstream News?
People are turning to social media instead of mainstream outlets for instant and on-the-ground news. But can either of these options be considered factual and credible?
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In August 2023, Virat Kohli called out The Times of India for publishing incorrect information about him building a cricket pitch on his farmhouse. The cricketer took to Instagram stories to correct the news and also express his concern over a trusted newspaper posting ‘fake news’. Since then, he has criticized mainstream media for multiple reasons, including the fake news of his mother's death.
The growing criticism of mainstream news being incorrect or unverified is not new. Consequently, consumers have started relying more and more on social platforms as their source of news.
According to a 2023 Survey, nearly 30% of adults rely on social media platforms for news. Additionally, users say they pay more attention to celebrities, influencers, and social media figures as compared to journalists, particularly on networks like Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok. This trend is concerning given that platforms like Facebook and Twitter are a few places where journalists actively lead discussions on current events. While Facebook remains a prominent social network among older adults, its impact on journalism is reducing as it turns its focus away from news content.
As a result, what we consider ‘news’ has transformed from verified facts posted by a few trustworthy sources to posts shared directly by social media users. Even the ‘blue tick’ of verified accounts is now a function of money rather than a marker of credibility. Now, any photo or video can become viral and be collectively labelled as the truth. Which is especially concerning due to growing concern of AI voices, doctored photos, and deepfakes.
This shift also impacts mainstream media, as online trends often dictate what they cover, often without any crosschecking or verification. The recent Poonam Pandey debacle was a perfect example of this, where only a few journalists like Faye DSouza took the time to verify the news before posting it, and many users saw this incident as a test of Indian media, which it failed. We talked about this in our newsletter, read it here.
Even the news of Poonam Pandey being alive was first posted on social media, which is how users and then the media found out. The fact that many celebrities first take to social media to post updates about their life or correct fake news, could also be a factor that leads people to first check social media for news and then verify it with an internet search.
This trend is obviously concerning as social media users start viewing people rather than institutes as credible sources, making it even easier for biased views and propaganda to be spread. Social media is infamous for propagating silos – spaces with their own norms, cultures, and ideologies – so it is completely possible for two people sitting in the same room to get very different news on the same issue. Not to mention the type of misinformation that is currently rampant on Indian WhatsApp groups. This is particularly concerning given the upcoming elections in India.
Ultimately, people are left with no credible or neutral source of information, and are lost in the subjective reframing of current events within their own political and ideological bubbles.
The onus now falls on news platforms, digital and print, to earn back their credibility or lose their standing to social media.
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