It’s been an absolutely bonkers month for social media companies like Facebook and Twitter, with Facebook admitting that it allows politicians to lie in ads on the platform and Twitter opening the floodgates to show users more ads than ever. Just yesterday, Twitter even announced that it was banning all political ads, something that Facebook has refused to do.
And it’s not just Facebook and Twitter. Other social media platforms like Twitch and TikTok have experienced plenty of weirdness in the past month. President Trump joined Twitch to spread his racist bullshit in a new space, TikTok has deleted dozens of ISIS recruitment accounts, and TikTok even beat Twitter to the punch, banning all political ads earlier this month.
With all of that in mind, it feels like a great time to open up one of Gizmodo’s old fashioned chatrooms and see how you’re feeling about all of this news. We’re nothing without our readers, and even though things can sometimes get pretty heated in the comments, we really do love to hear from you. Gizmodo was founded on the idea that it’s important to call bullshit on powerful institutions and there are few companies more powerful in the early 21st century than the tech giants who control what we can and cannot say.
How are you feeling about the news involving Facebook, Twitter, and more this month? Social media has become a battleground that can swing elections and even helped President Trump during the 2016 election, according to former U.S. intelligence officials. Is it a good idea for Twitter to ban political ads, or is the move inherently unfair in a free and open society? Do you think that politicians should be able to lie on Facebook, or should the company be held more accountable in an era when politicians have weaponized information to erode the principles of liberal democracy?
Let us know what you
