Managerial Communication Assignment: Facebook Fake News In The Post-

Truth World
Name: Ipsa Jaiswal
Roll Number: 110079
Section: B
Q1: In view of Zuckerberg's statement that" Facebook is a technology company and not a
media company, We build tools and do not produce content", would you attribute any
responsibility on Facebook for its impact on world events by spreading fake news on its
network? Do Do you justify the statement?
Facebook, with over 2.45 billion monthly active users, is the biggest social media website in
the world. As mentioned in the case, two-third of the Facebook users were relying on it as
their primary source of information. In a democracy, the importance of news cannot be
stressed on enough. It keeps us informed about how the society around us is functioning,
how it is being shaped and what problems are arising every day. As per the bullet theory of
communication, the media injects messages that are designed to get a desired response in
the minds of the consumers. In the case of Facebook, the corporate was accused of fuelling
confirmation bias by exposing the audience to only one side of the argument. It was also
attacked for spreading fake news, to which it responded that fake news is from both the
sides of the spectrum. In 2016, it was again accused for censoring conservatives, and for
press censorship. To this its response was that Facebook is not a media company, it only
builds the tools and does not produce content. Shedding all responsibility for the quality of
content on its platform is not a viable response to the problem. Facebook has launched a
news media service and is gaining profits as well as expanding audience from the same.
Thus, it also has an obligation towards the content that is being hosted on the platform.
Calling itself a technology company, instead of a media company, but then acting along the
lines of a media company gives it the benefit that it does not have to apply globally accepted
editorial policies. It is very difficult to analyse which industry does a technology company
operates in, especially if it offers multiple services. If all technology companies start stating
the same argument that Facebook did, there will be no way for us to fix responsibility.
Regulatory authorities will not be able to hold every person sharing wrongful content on
Facebook, instead Facebook should act as a gatekeeper and filter fake news, and work on its
algorithm to decrease polarizing views. In a nut shell, shedding responsibility and
transferring accountability, does not justify its actions.

Q2: What do you understand by the term post-truth? What connection does fake news
have with post-truth?
Post truth is a phenomenon that is often applied to politics, where arguments and debates
are shaped by appealing to people’s opinions and emotions, rather than to their rational
mind. With social media algorithms so designed that you get the information as per your
past searches and preferences towards a certain topic, the users get exposure to only one
side of the argument constantly. The effect it has on the minds of the users is that due to no
exposure to the arguments of other side there is a lack of sensitivity. Additionally, there is a
confirmation bias taking place as mentioned in the case, where the information we get
affirms our beliefs. Moreover, much of this news may be fake and not backed by facts. This
fake news and affirmation appeals to our emotional minds rather than our rational minds,
landing us in post-truth era.