FACEBOOK AND GOOGLE
JOHN DLUDLU: SA needs plan to save quality journalism
Google and Facebook have been the biggest culprits in destroying journalism jobs and weakening quality
At last social media giants, especially Facebook, Google and Twitter, are feeling the heat. The twin charge they face is lack of accountability and devouring the news media industry’s breakfast and lunch over the past decade. A week ago US legislators summoned the heads of Twitter, Facebook and Google to explain their role in the manipulation of US elections in 2016 by Russian operatives. Separately, but related, former senior aides to then US presidential candidate Donald Trump are falling one by one as part of the probe into Russian meddling. This pressure is unlikely to ease. As the mid-term elections approach, Americans would want assurance that there is no interference of any kind, especially given the Trump-Vladimir Putin rapprochement. The social media behemoths are resentful of what they see as encroachment by legislators and regulators. Instead, they have tightened their policies and standards as part of self-regulation. Reluctantly, they have also contracted fact checkers ...
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