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Description
Throughout history, propaganda has evolved not in only content but also in the way in which it is delivered and consumed. The dissemination of propaganda and the need to sway public opinion has remained consistent since its creation. In comparing older propaganda strategies to modern ones, the Internet and social media have supplied a new channel for propaganda to be spread at an accelerated rate. An outright lie can become viral in minutes and reach millions of people before it gets disproven. The Internet has become the most dominant tool of the Twenty-first century, creating new opportunities and challenges for those engaged in the spread or stopping of propaganda. Memes, have been utilized as a clever propaganda device allowing for global influence on almost any issue. Propaganda, when executed effectively, has the power to devalue and delegitimize insight from subject-matter experts, the authority of governing bodies, and the concept of objective information. Fact-based and accessible data are necessary pillars to a representative democracy, but undetected and unfiltered propaganda that reaches unsuspecting recipients risks tarnishing that societal foundation. Propaganda undermines the ability for a democracy to engage in rational discourse based upon facts in order to make decisions and support efforts that fulfill their collective best interest. People have increasingly turned to social media platforms for news consumption and community building, allowing for a large-scale exchange of information to be made accessible to nearly all Americans. Online content creation tools like Photoshop, however, assist in deception tactics that produce what many may perceive as credible information that drowns out legitimate facts. Content distributors, specifically social media companies, need to create procedures that minimize the spread of propaganda and promote the dissemination of high-quality information. Although there may be limited legal avenues that can address this issue of propaganda on social media platforms, there are a few that can be leveraged or modified to limit dangerously inaccurate and profit-driven online content. As propaganda producers continue to outmaneuver social media companies and the American legal system, we can expect further technological developments to create more elaborate ways of influencing us in the future.
