Social Media and the Public Resurgence of Racism, Antisemitism, and Homophobia
The upcoming election will undeniably be recognized as a critical event in United States’ political history and as an event that will undoubtedly have long-lasting effects in regards to domestic and international stability. This is an election that is already, and disappointingly predictably so, rife with allegations of voter suppression and intimidation. These are the unfortunate consequences of years of turmoil, inaction, and willful promotion of division. It’s also an election that has seen historic early voting turnout and, according to 538’s 2020 Election Forecast as of November 2nd, the emergence of states such as Texas and Georgia as potential electoral tossups. I’m not here to discuss the political views of either candidate or to voice my opinions on the election odds. Instead, I’d like to address the disturbing reality that is the apparent public resurgence, or rather increasing vocality, of hate speech seemingly in all forms in this country and its relationship with the historical levels of partisanship that we are experiencing.
The reasons for the heightened visibility of hate speech are varied, but one thing should be clear to everyone — social media services like Facebook, Twitter, and even TikTok have been instrumental in the rise of such ideologies. Facebook, for example, suggests groups based on users’ friends, interactions with pages, and other groups that they have joined. This results in users who are emboldened by the discovery of like-minded people and leads to a self-perpetuating cycle where Facebook continues to lead them “down the rabbit hole” of racism, antisemitism, and homophobia by recommending similar groups. These sorts of groups may be partly responsible for recent events regarding the election like the Biden campaign bus incident in Texas. According to the Anti-Defamation League, hate groups and conspiracy theorists continue to thrive on Facebook as of 2020. I had an incident occur about ten years ago when I was still a student where another student got into my account and posted malicious content and groups. The posts were quickly deleted but it does make me wonder whether this deleted content could continue to influence what appears in my feed. The disturbing truth is that these companies are well aware of the damage that their products can, and do, cause. They are also more than capable of altering their services to reduce the cycle of hate. However, doing so could drastically affect user engagement within key demographics and hurt the bottom line.
Why is it that social media executives are only willing to acknowledge the harm that their platforms cause once they retire or are forced out? Does publicly condemning these systems and algorithms help to clear the conscience after knowingly participating in the promotion of hatred? Ultimately, the major social media companies are beholden to their shareholders and not the users or general populace while politicians, who should be looking out for the interests of their constituents, receive millions from tech lobbying a year. Extremists, foreign actors, and organizations looking for political gain will continue to abuse, or rather use exactly as intended, social media sites’ algorithms to further their causes and to attract more supporters. Freedom of speech is one of the cornerstones of this country and people are entitled to their own beliefs, but is it truly necessary for social media services to promote such beliefs? Action must be taken and it is up to the American people to let their voices be heard. Complacency is never the path to positive change.
