Comparison:
[High-tech, social media companies are] run by engineers who might as well be wiring your house for cable or fixing your water main for all they care about the quality of information you consume online.
Washington Post columnist Matt Bai notes that the quality of information we read on social media may be fairly low on the priority list of tech-giant social media companies. The U.S. Supreme Court is deciding a related case that may redirect their attention. Let the reader beware. (And make sure you have plenty of buckets.)
Context:
I have some sympathy for this argument, in part because I’ve worked for two of these companies in my career. (I spent five years as the national political columnist for Yahoo and then published a newsletter on Meta’s now-defunct Bulletin platform.) I can attest to the idea that tech companies behave nothing like traditional journalism outlets. They’re run by engineers who might as well be wiring your house for cable or fixing your water main for all they care about the quality of information you consume online.
Citation:
Bai, Matt. “Social Media Companies are not the Same as Public Utilities.” Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2024. Web.
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