Introduction
Social media has emerged as an integral part of new-age communication, with individuals across billions using these platforms in order to connect, share information, and interact. Social media has revolutionized communication, creating a podium whereby humans and organizations can spread their messages to the world within seconds. On the other hand, with social media on the rise also comes propaganda and misinformation that may have a great influence in terms of public opinion or decision-making. How social media has become a powerful tool for propaganda dissemination through the use of visual communication like Facebook and Snapchat and the need for media literacy in navigating digital information is discussed.
Role of Social Media in Propaganda Dissemination
The presence of social media like Facebook and Snapchat in the spreading of propaganda is deep. Recent findings from the Oxford Internet Institute, as reported by the University of Oxford (2021), show that organized social media manipulation campaigns were prevalent in 81 countries, which was a fifteen percent increase from a year ago; millions are spent on ‘cyber troops’ by governments and political parties to propagate disinformation. Particularly, Facebook has been criticized for amplifying and disseminating such content, as in the Myanmar case, where its algorithms recommended military propaganda. Snapchat, although less explored in the research literature, has also been used for political communication and campaigning; some examples of propaganda from the liberal side can be found spread through its various tools. These platforms’ algorithms have a strong potential to determine public opinion and become an important factor in influencing democratic processes by driving attention to chosen content. Social media companies, therefore, need to step up and prevent the circulation of propaganda so that society has an informed public debate.
As per research conducted by Luo et al., 2021, fake news travels at a considerably faster pace and reaches many more people on popular social media websites such as Facebook than true information. Such processes, referred to as information cascades, may be used by adversaries for purposes of amplifying biased content and guiding public attitudes. Secondly, the interactive nature of Facebook, Snapchat, and other major social media sites is what makes them all so vulnerable to narrative control. Majerczak & Strzelecki (2022) conducted a study on false news stories that show 70% of it is more likely to get retweeted than the actual ones, prompting social media users’ susceptibility to being misinformed and propaganda. This amplification of untrue rumors is capable of being much wider than they shape public opinion and can cause social tension. For instance, in the 2016 presidential election in the U.S., it was stated that Russian operatives abused Facebook to personalize propaganda messages primarily aimed at influencing some groups while seeking chaos and vote manipulations. This shows how social media can be used to propagandize and, in doing so, highlight the susceptibilities and prejudices of different partitions on crowds.
However, the use of analytics and user behaviour information for targeting specific demographics with tailor-made propaganda is indeed one major problem. Complex algorithms employed by social media platforms track and analyze the data accumulated from millions of users to build comprehensive profiles that can be referred to for targeted content delivery. This specific method also guarantees that propaganda has landed in the most vulnerable target audiences, which makes it more powerful. For example, the ability of Facebook to target users during political campaigns based on their online behavioral patterns, preferences, and age is currently causing concern. Came light the Cambridge Analytica scandal showed that the personal information of millions had been collected from Facebook users without their approval and processed into pool profiles, which were used for political ads affecting voter behavior.
Moreover, leaked documents have revealed that the leaders of Facebook, including Mark Zuckerberg CEO, considered users’ data they held as a means to obtain control over their competitors and perhaps support friends in such anonymity while outside proclaiming protection for this very information. These disclosures show the intricate obstacles and moral issues to be considered prior to the usage of user data in social media systems. Although Snapchat is discussed less in this context, it gathers data regarding users so that the content and ads can be personalized despite the fact that, typically, Snapchat’s target audience is younger people. Still, some functions of this platform, such as stories and discovery, can be used for more propaganda purposes even though it possesses visual and impermanent characteristics.
Developing media literacy skills
Media literacy skills are necessary for people to navigate the modern media domain and combat propaganda safely. Media literacy includes the capacity to use, analyze, and compare media in multiple formats that play an important role in understanding what is real or fake within information (Robin et al., 2023). It is necessary to perceive propaganda in all its forms, particularly subtle corporate campaigns for breast cancer awareness that might combine some advocacy with marketing goals. Another illustration is the critical analysis of news sources. Media literacy empowers people to decide which pieces of journalism are authentic and what is exaggerated just out of curiosity. For instance, the objective of the school program CONTRA is to promote critical media literacy in relation to extremist messages on social networks, focusing mainly on awareness, reflection, and empowerment as primary elements (Aïmeur et al., 2023). Media literacy education and training can equip people with such skills which allow them to detect propaganda, understand its principles of work, and act on it. This leads to a more aware and resilient society that is capable of interacting with the content in the media criticality.
Conclusion
Conclusively, social media has become a highly influential mechanism for the transmission of propaganda and visual communication an essential component in forming public perceptions that shape narratives. Media literacy is an important tool to addressing the negative effects of propaganda by developing in individuals a critical mindset towards consuming digital information. Through acquiring understanding of media literacy and a critical perspective on digital content consumption, individuals can combat the effects of propaganda whereby they would make decisions based upon true information.
References
Aïmeur, E., Amri, S., & Brassard, G. (2023). Fake news, disinformation and misinformation in social media: a review. Social Network Analysis and Mining, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13278-023-01028-5
Luo, H., Cai, M., & Cui, Y. (2021). Spread of Misinformation in Social Networks: Analysis Based on Weibo Tweets. Security and Communication Networks, 2021(7999760), e7999760. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/7999760
Majerczak, P., & Strzelecki, A. (2022). Trust, Media Credibility, Social Ties, and the Intention to Share towards Information Verification in an Age of Fake News. Behavioral Sciences, 12(2), 51. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs12020051
Robin Redmon Wright, Sandlin, J. A., & Burdick, J. (2023). What is critical media literacy in an age of disinformation? New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2023(178), 11–25. https://doi.org/10.1002/ace.20485
University of Oxford. (2021, January 13). Social media manipulation by political actors an industrial scale problem – Oxford report | University of Oxford. Www.ox.ac.uk; University of Oxford. https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2021-01-13-social-media-manipulation-political-actors-industrial-scale-problem-oxford-report
Kiss, L. B. (2020). The Importance of Business Partnership on the World Wide Web. Business Ethics and Leadership, 4(1), 68–79. https://doi.org/10.21272/bel.4(1).68-79.2020
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