The effect of the internet and social media on democratic elections.

[Deleted]

Literally anyone in the world can somehow have influence over how people think about candidates and how they will vote.

Is this a good or bad development in your opinion?

I can almost only see negative effects right now since people tend to believe almost anything they read.
I think we all know someone that read "something" on Facebook and just took it as truth and started spreading the word.

It's a scary thought that first of all you can have people believe whatever you want due to human nature, but even scarier that thanks to the internet it can be done on a global scale almost instantly.

[Gestopft]

It's scary. All the information at our fingertips, and all of the misinformation.

[Independent voter]

I think the European way of looking at it is that readers are stupid and they can be easily duped.

[Deleted]

Sure, but what are the alternatives? No information at all? Only information from (potentially biased) journalists?

I think it is fine as it is. What we really need to improve is more critical thinking, and learn to be more skeptic about what we read on the Internet. School could help in improving this.

[Gestopft]

I think it is fine as it is. What we really need to improve is more critical thinking, and learn to be more skeptic about what we read on the Internet. School could help in improving this.

Yes

Sure, but what are the alternatives? No information at all? Only information from (potentially biased) journalists?

In this day and age more than ever, the most important thing you can do to inform yourself (in addition to the aforementioned critical thinking and skepticism) is to get your information from many sources.

[mickybrighteyes]

It's scary. All the information at our fingertips, and all of the misinformation.

this. we can find info on literally any subject as fast as people can put it up and there may or may not be evidence backing shit up.

I remember hearing some bible thumpers fear mongering the end of days calling our current age the time of chaos... I didn't believe most of what they were preaching cause it was over the top end of days shit... but Time of Chaos seems like a perfect description of how we can interpret information on the internet. A vast wealth of knowledge and information at our fingertips, near endless in it's scope and lack of point, as many points of view as there are points on a plane.

[I Push Buttons]

Bad.

When there is a limitless supply of baseless inflammatory bullshit meant only to generate ad revenue via click baiting idiots... And you mix that with tens of millions of idiots who are either too stupid or too blinded by confirmation bias to take it with a grain of salt...

The results, as evidenced by this previous year of the electoral process, are not good.

[Blur4stuff]

facebook was probably the biggest propaganda tool available. not just for Trump, but Clinton too.

I don't use facebook, but i've seen the feeds of friends who do. I saw lots of bullshit Clinton hate posts. Most of it based on pure nonsense like her having assassin squads taking out her enemies. I also saw Clinton supporters creating feminist fantasies about "bernie bros".

at a basic level it's no different than 500 or 1000 years ago. friends and strangers tell each other bullshit. the problem now is one person can spread their bullshit to thousands or even millions.

[Nathreim]

Libs: "Its bad because we lost. Fuckin Assange fucking Russians fucking Pepe"

[mickybrighteyes]

Libs: "Its bad because we lost. Fuckin Assange fucking Russians fucking Pepe"

why do i get the feeling that someone out there has a meme of Assange taking Putin from behind while Putin is puttin it into Pepe who is most certainly very sad about the whole event.

[zoomgpally]

why do i get the feeling that someone out there has a meme of Assange taking Putin from behind while Putin is puttin it into Pepe who is most certainly very sad about the whole event.

You have spent too much time on the internet...

[GreenJesus]

https://www.facebook.com/Riverent/vi...5/?pnref=story

This is a video that plays the famous "Trump wants to ban muslims" from the country that got shared millions of times by Nowthis.. He plays the actual speech afterward without any cuts and Trump actually sounds reasonable. Nowthis and other sites are incredible at cutting snipets and sharing it to fit their propaganda.

It is really scary.

[Daedius]

Free information vs controlled propaganda... hmm...

I'll stick to free info, thanks. The Media has already shown its ugly head deliberately staging the whole elections in favour of Hillary. I laugh at them for all the ungodly amount of money wasted on that hag, when Trump had his done freely by the populace... more so considering the DNC shot themselves in the foot ousting Bernie from the very start, deliberately not airing many of his speeches.

[mickybrighteyes]

You have spent too much time on the internet...

ten characters

[OperationFerret]

I used to believe everything that I read on the internet but now I believe none of it. Misinformation tends to backfire after a while.

[jimboa24]

Honestly, I think Social Media is what caused so many people to be fucking blindsided by this election. Picking and choosing who we let into our social circles, who we block or ignore or Twitter, algorithms that detect your interests and deliver news and info to you, catered to your tastes...it encourages people to live in bubbles and echo chambers, which conveniently allow us to ignore the other side of an issue (except for the super-extreme examples who are obvious idiots and make funny stories with their stupid quotes or shenanigans). We have inadvertently created our own little safe spaces. So if you're reading this @GennGreymane (since you keep asking if anyone's seen a safe space), there's your answer - we've all been living in safe spaces the entire time without even knowing it.

I remember reading a quote from back when Ronald Reagan won the 1980 election by a landslide. I think it was from a reporter, or a celebrity, but the quote was, "I don't know how Reagan won - no one I know voted for him."

When you surround yourself only with like-minded people and that's it, this is the result. Well, one example of it. I'm sure there's plenty more other, less-obvious ways this kind of thing effects besides elections. And I don't know what the solution is. It's scary, because I am absolutely sure it's one of the reasons we're so divided and fractured.

[Macaquerie]

I doubt that too many people are actually dumb enough to believe everything they see on Facebook. However, when you are introduced to a particular topic through an internet meme, then regardless of how much research you do on it later, your initial impression is going to permanently color your perception of that issue and affect how any further information gets absorbed. This is part of why social media has become so effective at spreading lies and BS - by the time the fact check comes along to debunk it, the idea has already been planted in your head.

[mickybrighteyes]

I doubt that too many people are actually dumb enough to believe everything they see on Facebook. However, when you are introduced to a particular topic through an internet meme, then regardless of how much research you do on it later, your initial impression is going to permanently color your perception of that issue and affect how any further information gets absorbed. This is part of why social media has become so effective at spreading lies and BS - by the time the fact check comes along to debunk it, the idea has already been planted in your head.

it's not just about initial contact being a meme. there's this bias we all go through:

Anchoring or focalism is a cognitive bias that describes the common human tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information offered (the "anchor") when making decisions. During decision making, anchoring occurs when individuals use an initial piece of information to make subsequent judgments.

I dind't think it was a thing and then I remembered my initial interactions with in game classes for various RPG's or games with RPG elements. To think I use to believe Ana was worthless in Overwatch cause her ult wasn't for her, and her damage couldn't headshot... I wanted a stealth sniper not a support healer... I learned better though.

[PACOX]

Bad, no.

Social media is just a tool to communicate with other people. We as users dictate how we use it. Social media makes it easy to spread bad information, but it also makes it easy to spread valid information or to validate unverified information.

Imagine all that nonsense that would go around without having something like the internet for fact checking?

[Rafoel]

I remember reading a quote from back when Ronald Reagan won the 1980 election by a landslide. I think it was from a reporter, or a celebrity, but the quote was, "I don't know how Reagan won - no one I know voted for him."

But that actually proves safe bubbles are not connected with social media, and people have been creating them since forever. It's completely natural to surround yourself with similarly thinking people - it's called "friends". If somebody has opposite opinion than you on crucial cases, he probably doesn't make a good buddy.