The growth of social media platforms has made counter-speech challenging, but not impossible. For instance, hate speech has been used to catalyze violence, such as what occurred in India in 2017 and 2018 when “38 people were killed by vigilante mobs following rumors that circulated on WhatsApp suggesting that men were coming to villages in order to kidnap children.”
In response to this incident, WhatsApp “has since placed a limit on how many times a piece of content can be forwarded.” To capitalize on the counter-speech doctrine, others have created online groups to take tangible actions against hateful speech. “#Jagarhar” or “I Am Here” on Facebook posts links to articles with hateful comments, “directing their members to counter-speak” on the platform. When members tag their responses with “#Jagarhar” the relevance ratio spikes which drives ranking to the top “and ideally drowning out the hateful comments.”
Sensational Sells
The market overtly allows sensationalized news to sustain ratings and improve profits. News outlets are now pressured into profitability due to the dwindling earnings of the entertainment and sports segments. As a survival mechanism, news outlets must sensationalize news as a means to remain relevant and profitable.
This is the reverse of the business model in the 50s and 60s when entertainment profits subsidized losses in the news segments. At times, industry inadvertently creates the environment for sensationalism. Miscommunication can stem from differing goals and delivery style where both sides claim to be “committed to communicating truth.” The result is a distorted reality of untruths that takes root that confuses the audience and evolves into more untruths which ultimately compounds into a “fog of fake news.” For instance, taking the “human-interest angle” and personal stories “may distort research” and could lose the meaning of the “broader statistical context” in medical reporting.
Pros and Cons
With advances in technology, the positive effects of a new gadget or software are immediately noticed and marketed to the consumer. However, the negative effects can take longer to manifest, and at times purposely hidden from the public.
For instance, to protect profits, industries that polluted the environment tied up government remedies in the courts for many decades. Today, with the ubiquity of information online, the playing field has been flattened and seems to have shifted in favor of the consumer. Using less resources and with a quicker pace, the public can bring light to government and/or industry misconduct and can exert pressure that results in a relatively quick response.
Sprint and Marathon
Tocaptivate its audience, media is now more than just the race to become the first to report, but must now win the race to be persistent. This is also the result of industry’s reaction to an ever-changing consumer habit. We demand more in less time.
Our interest wanes within seconds which forces media to stay ahead of our whims in order to lure more views, clicks, likes and shares. The more we click, the more of the same data is diverted towards us. We have become complicit contributors to the proliferation of fake news and have turned into self-licking ice cream cones, patting ourselves on the back for the degraded and shallow understanding of superficial dogmas merely re-packaged as new ideas.
As difficult as it may seem, we must allow this marketplace to exist because the development and advancement of technology should not be stifled, even when segments of technology is misused. Even when mishandled, an exchange of ideas still exists that drives earnings and profits. Whether healthy for society or not, biased consumers will still devour skewed data, while balanced information will still be consumed by the informed consumer.
Teach the Children
Up to a point, we must educate the youth to figure out for themselves which news is fake and which report is real. However, the only way for the youth to gain meaningful wisdom is to make enough wrong choices, to suffer from mistakes, and to bounce back from adversity. Protecting the youth by censoring media is not a sustainable model, nor a preferred way to raise an empowered society. Without a harsh playing field from which to gain courage by beating an adversary, we create a society of risk averse and untested citizens. Instead, we should encourage the youth to be more inquisitive, to be bold in questioning data, and to take a stand with the intent to cultivate the seeds of knowledge in order to harvest wisdom.
Lastly, using Nagler’s 4 Tips for Spotting a Fake News Story we can teach the youth 4 ways to evaluate the news, namely: 1) Vet the publisher’s credibility, 2) Pay attention to quality and timeliness, 3) Check the sources and citations, and 4) Ask the pros. With this model of analysis, the youth can make informed decisions and will be able to confidently counter hate speech with love and understanding, and overcome lies with more truths.
Copyright Leonard Casiple 2023. All rights reserved.
About the author: Leo Casiple is a first-generation American who grew up in Southern Philippines under martial law. He spent much of his 21-year career in the US Army as a Green Beret.
Leo is currently a doctoral student at Northeastern University’s Doctor of Law and Policy program (2022–2025 Cohort). He earned his education from California Lutheran University (MPPA), ASU Thunderbird School of Global Management (MBA in Global Management), Excelsior University (BS in Liberal Arts, Ethnic and Area Studies), Academy of Competitive Intelligence (Master of Competitive Intelligence™), Defense Language Institute and Foreign Language Center (18-month Arabic Language Course), and the US Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (Special Forces Qualification Course and Psychological Operations Specialist Course).
For more information about the author, click here: Leo’s LinkedIn Profile
Sources
Benesch, S., Buerger, C., Glavinic, T., & Manion, S. (2019, December 4). Dangerous Speech: A Practical Guide. Retrieved from https://dangerousspeech.org/guide/
Benesch, S., & Jones, D. (2019, August 13). Combating Hate Speech Through Counter speech. Retrieved from https://cyber.harvard.edu/story/2019-08/combating-hate-speech-through-counterspeech
Nagler, C. (2018, November 1). 4 Tips for Spotting a Fake News Story. Retrieved from https://www.summer.harvard.edu/inside-summer/4-tips-spotting-fake-news-story