Social Media, an Online Battle

The key factors contributing to the online battle for public opinion would be what certain social media platforms allow and how popular said individuals are on certain platforms. There is no denying that some platforms lean towards a certain political standing. If you are on the side that the social media platform favors, you are more likely to get your voice heard, and if you are not, then you have the possibility of being shadow banned. This then relates to how popular one is on a platform. Whether promoted or shadow banned, the more followers you have likely the larger reach you will have as well. The follower count also adds credibility to your voice. The implications of these two factors is that there is a possibly the correct voice is being virtually lowered for certain agenda or the incorrect voice is being taken as absolute truth because of the individuals popularity on the platform.

Some examples of online campaigns that were successful and significantly influenced public opinion could be BLM or MAGA. While both would likely be considered too have opposing view points, whichever side you are on you can't argue that both were not successful. Both were extremely successful because they both used the tactics of challenging the identity of their target audience. If you believe in BLM then you are this certain person, and if you believe in MAGA then you are this certain person. Both creating situations where you had to chose a definite side, creating an opportunity for identity that many people were yearning for.


The ethical considerations individuals and organizations should consider when participating in this battle for public view online is that social media, while advertised as free speech, is not actually free. This goes for both left and right side. They should also consider that social media is a bank of information. If you say something one year and have a different view the next, the previous view will still be on record even if you deleted it. Not to mention there will always be another individual or company to call you out on it if needed.

For the record, none of this is political to me, I am just making examples.

Comments