Opinion: Tackling the weaponisation of fear online means challenging widespread "radical indifference" to content
By Anne Holohan, TCD
Following the attack outside a school in Parnell Square in Dublin on Thursday, many were following the events on their phones throughout the day and into the night, with many getting their news from social media. As is the nature of social media platforms, each person was getting a personalised feed depending on what they clicked on, and no one knew what anyone else was seeing. A small number of "protestors" on the streets used fire to hide that they are a tiny minority who do not reflect the majority. Online, there was an explosion of xenophobic weaponisation of the attack, which is not visible as the fires are, but is more incendiary, with widespread and ongoing harm.
What role does social media play in this outbreak of violence, and other extraordinary outbreaks of violence and hate, such as the January 6 attack on the Capitol in the US? Shoshana Zuboff, a Harvard professor emeritus, highlights two key elements. First, the technology companies who run the various social media platforms make their money off the vast amounts of data they collect when people click on Facebook, Tiktok, Instagram, X, and so on. The more people click and share, the more data there is to sell to the vast data mining sector. The goal is to keep people clicking.
What gets people clicking? Content that arouses emotion, the more sensationalist and provocative the better. Whatever you click on, you get more of. This sends people down into what are called ‘echo chambers’ – you are not exposed to alternative views and you are seeing the world through a particular prism. But the real kicker is what Zuboff calls the "radical indifference" of the platforms to the content that gets you clicking. Far-right groups are savvy to this and use it very effectively, stoking fear. And the outcome in the last few years is an explosion of hate circulating online.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Today with Claire Byrne, Mark Condren, photographer Irish Independent and Sarah Mohamed, Irish-Sudanese Pharmacist in Holles Street
Second, the social media platforms are private for profit companies. Their job is to make money. The problem arises when governments, whose job it is to regulate such companies, do not understand how these companies work. Governments end up standing by helplessly instead of doing their job, which is to represent the interests of all citizens and ensure a fair and safe society for all. Regulating social media is an essential part of this in today’s world. Campaigning for the end to anonymity and making people accountable for what they say is one step and must be tackled at the international level.
It is very difficult to regulate international companies in cyberspace. But governments can tackle this in different ways and at the national level. Education is key and must start early. Finland starts incorporating digital literacy and disinformation into its education system at pre-school level. Ireland needs a comprehensive curriculum that starts just as early and continues all the way through to third level.
It is not about rejecting social media. It is about challenging the "radical indifference" to content, and the logic of profit. Taiwan has a Minister of Digital Affairs, Audrey Tang, who pioneered a platform, Polis, where the government proposes a measure, all members of the public can pitch in, just like on the social media platforms, but the algorithm looks for consensus not dissension, focusing in the discussion on the common elements in discussion. Unsurprisingly, most people share similar values of wanting to be safe, respected, and included, and the outcomes have fed into several successful pieces of legislation tackling societal issues big and small.
Read more: How social media has enabled the rise of far right influencers
Read more: How the far right are misrepresenting Irish history
Read more: What's behind the emergence of the far right in Irish politics?
So it is not about blaming technology, it is about questioning how it is currently set up, how it is used, and who controls it, with what motivation. Tim Berners Lee built on previous work to come up with the World Wide Web, handed it over for free as a public good, with the belief that access to information is a human right. But we have clearly deviated off the road he envisioned and the values he demonstrated. Understanding how that has happened is the first step in taking control of our future and our children’s future, for us all to be truly informed in our choices.
Dr Anne Holohan is Associate Professor in Sociology at Trinity College Dublin.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
