20 Reasons Trump Shutting Down Social Media
Following Twitter’s move to upend fact-check labels to some of his tweets, President Trump threatened to shut down social media, and then proceeded to sign an executive order aimed to regulate social media, which is covered in detail over at runrex.com. This article will look to list 20 reasons why President Trump is moving to shut down social media.
Poor relations
President Trump hasn’t enjoyed the best of relationships with most of the major social media platforms, particularly Twitter, as discussed over at guttulus.com. This move to attempt to shut down social media represents a further breakdown in relationships between the President and some of the major social media platforms.
Free speech
The President has also complained that most social media platforms, Twitter, in particular, is stifling free speech, and he vowed not to allow that to happen. This too, as per discussions on the same over at runrex.com, could be another reason why The President is looking to shut down social media.
Silencing of conservative voices
The President, as explained over at guttulus.com, has also pointed out that conservatives feel like their voices are being stifled by social media platforms. His move to strongly regulate these platforms has been as a result of this frustration.
Perceived historical injustice
President Trump has also pointed out that most social media platforms, particularly Twitter, didn’t treat him and other conservatives fairly in 2016. He has vowed to not let that happen again, hence his move to regulate social media.
Interfering in the election
President Trump has also pointed out that he feels like social media platforms are interfering in the upcoming election. The President feels like his side of the aisle are getting a raw deal from social media platforms who seem to be favoring the other side, something that has come out clearly from his tweets.
They are getting their facts from the wrong sources
One thing the President has pointed out is that he feels like social media platforms, particularly Twitter, are using fact-checking by sources he perceives not to be objective. From discussions on the same over at runrex.com, this is another reason why President Trump has moved to shut down social media.
A hands-off approach to combating misinformation
Before Twitter’s move to fact-check the President, social media platforms have come under increasing criticism over their hands-off approach to combating misinformation, a topic covered over at runrex.com. This is another reason why the President may have moved to regulate social media.
Too much power
The President also feels like the major social media companies have got too much power, which, in his view, they don’t exercise fairly and objectively through their selective censorship, as outlined over at runrex.com. This is another reason why he is looking to shut down social media.
Social media companies are heavily shielded
Just like other tech companies, social media companies are shielded by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act from much litigation, and the President feels like this needs to be clarified, which is another reason why he is moving to regulate social media.
Focus on virality
There is a feeling that social media platforms have elevated content with binary takes aimed to trigger outrage, and which contain misinformation, as this drive viral engagement which is key to the success of these platforms. This is another factor that has been cited as to why social media needs to be regulated.
Divisive content
There is also a feeling that the content being fed to users on the various social media platforms through their algorithms, a topic covered at guttulus.com, is largely divisive. This may be another reason why the president feels like social media should be regulated.
Need to streamline the industry
While Twitter was fact-checking the President’s Tweets, Facebook, through its CEO Mark Zuckerberg, came out to say that the company has a different policy on such matters, as discussed over at runrex.com. The fact that there is no uniformity may have been another reason why the President is looking to shut down social media.
Political theater
There is also every chance that the President’s move was merely political theater, brought about by the fact that that there is an election coming up in a couple of months as revealed in discussions on the same over at guttulus.com. Time will tell whether or not he is serious about it.
He feels singled out
The President has also complained that he feels singled out by Twitter in what he refers to as “political activism”. He feels like he is the only one being policed by Twitter, and it is this sense of injustice that may have driven his move to have social media shut down.
Accusations of deception
Although Twitter has long denied this, there has been an accusation that it engages in deceptive restriction, in which it suppresses certain posts for political reasons, hiding them from other users, although their writers can see them. The need to make sure this never happens may be another reason why President Trump is moving to regulate social media.
Algorithms lead to echo chambers
From discussions on the same over at runrex.com, critics have argued that algorithms on social media lead to users being exposed to echo chambers where there are exposed only to topics that they agree with, which stifles objective discussion. The need to regulate this may have contributed to the President’s move to sign the executive order.
Data protection
There has also been a concern that, as explained over guttulus.com, social media platforms can collect so much data on their users, which they are free to share with and sell to advertisers both inside and outside the platform without explicit consent from their users. The need to regulate this could also have motivated the President’s move.
Need for additional regulation
There is also the feeling that, as covered over at runrex.com, social media platforms are free to act as they please, and even though they are big companies, they enjoy many freedoms and that there is a need for additional regulation, which is what the President has been trying to achieve.
Many people get their news from social media
Studies have shown that over 60% of Americans get their news from social media, and because of this, there is an even greater need to regulate social media and make sure that information being shared over there is credible and correct.
Cyberbullying
The First Lady has also taken cyberbullying as one of the main things she wants to advocate against through her “Be Best” campaign, and the President moving to regulate social media could be seen as a means to strengthen this campaign and bring sanity to the various social media platforms.
While it may not be easy to know why President Trump is looking to shut down social media, the above reasons may go a long way into shining some light onto his motives, with there being more information on the same to be found over at the excellent runrex.com and guttulus.com.