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To glimpse Britain now would be a snapshot, a still representation of an adapting, ever-changing organism. An organism made up of its component nations, of its peoples and their cultures, their businesses and companies which bolster its economy. It is also so much more. Britain is a shared history which stretches back as a state for 300 years. So what does the future hold?
What will Britain look like in 2071? Will there be such a thing as Britain? Will the Conservative Party continue to spread joy and happiness to a grateful population? Was Star Trek: The Next Generation correct in its prediction about Britain? Dear reader, an adventure awaits.
Manipulating social media and spreading misinformation through their allies seems to be the perfect crime for the Conservatives – after they win the election the damage is done and they are simply met with a fine which they easily shrug off. Do you think there is any meaningful way for the judiciary or the Tories’ political opponents to oppose/combat this, or will this always be a fool-proof road to victory?
I believe policy can address the issue though I think it is a question of when and how thorough said policy might be. The rapid pace of change means that any policy, unless it is designed to handle online development itself runs the risk of addressing outdated problems. it is something that will be addressed but the degree and permanence of it is up for debate.
if it becomes too prominent in politics and begins creating landslide victories it will create scandals that public outcry will force to be addressed. I believe it is most dangerous where it asserts a silent but considerable influence. A leading edge as it were, similar to campaign funding in the USA where the biggest campaign funds has historically always won the presidential race.
It’s worth having in perspective the long history of how the press actually functions in our society as a mechanism of spreading ruling-class ideologies. The standard scholarly study of the British press is “Power Without Responsibility” which is both available online and a hard copy at the library, the most recent versions look at the effects of the internet and social media (library needs the 2018 version, Id suggest making a purchase request to them (https://www.dundee.ac.uk/library/resources/recommendaresource/morebooks/)).
Though how ruling-class ideologies and (mis)information is disseminated on social media is in itself an important topic, without situating it more broadly in an awareness of the destruction of the left press and relative lack of working-class and left mass media, there is a risk of hyperfocussing on things like regulation of social media, important though it is. You suggest judicial rectification which is a serious threat to the Tories, hence their attacks on the Electoral Commission and restricting judciial review.
Another risk of looking at the specific issue of social media msiinformation is that it can imply a technical solution to a technical problem, when the issue itself is a political one. The risk of “solutionism” is one that is being peddled by Silicon valley elites in league with the liberla faction of the (US) ruling class, leading to further neoliberalisation of the media and a restriction of freedom of speech. Social media censorship, .e.g. Twitter’s new rules on publishing information or editorialising on Trump’s antics (which is primarily an alignment with the liberal faction of state power in the US than much of a commitment to freedom of speech), is being touted as a solution to these ills.
A good example of how deeply authoritarian is the Labour right MP Chris Bryant’s same-day response to the assassination of David Amess MP. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/oct/15/after-two-killings-in-five-years-we-must-get-serious-about-mps-security. Despite social media anonymity having close to zero relevance in the murder, Bryant’s instant response to make social media more authoritarian and reduce freedom of speech is a classic of the genre of legislating away a free press in the name of freedom. I leave it to you to decide whether someone like Bryant is the political opposition to the Tories or not.
Do you believe that social media is more brainwashing people to do what their told rather than giving people a platform of free speech?
Presentation was good and informative.
Yes, I do believe that social media is manipulating opinions and beliefs. Regardless of your political or social beliefs. Whether you hold left or right leaning bias, or if you view society from a liberal or neo-liberal vantage point. if you are a regular social media user who is forming a personal identity heavily influenced by viewing and internalising streamlined and filtered content on various social media platforms are you ever really going to be free thinking with the capacity to express your views freely, openly and without judgement. Even concepts perceived by the masses as positive, for example ‘Woke Culture’ is still a culture…(the ideals, ideas, customs and behaviours of a specific GROUP within society), therefor in an attempt to identify as free thinking person who exercises free speech, you are still being influenced by content online.
Also thanks for the positive feedback
Do you think that in the future we will begin to see large social movements gaining traction based entirely on fake news seen on social media?
Possibly, I cant quite make up my mind on this. Either we will see large social movements that will build momentum rapidly with the potential to make real positive social change or cause massive social divide and unrest……… or we will see societies formed by masses of individuals so overwhelmed by the range of content available that they will create identities so fragmented that no political or social movement will ever be supported by a large enough percentage of the people to allow for positive or negative change.
Are politicians under more and more pressure every day now that everything they do is so closely monitored on social media?
I think this applies to everyone.
For ‘celebrities’, politicians and public figures every post, tweet, comment and picture they share is scrutinised, judged and examined by millions of people. Phenomena such as cancel culture is promoting this, free speech is a thing of the past if your ideals do not match the ideals of another. The negative consequences of being cancelled or ridiculed must bring immense pressures to conform to the masses, because if you dont you may lose everything.
For us ‘normal folk’ who do not live in the limelight, we suffer the same judgemental behaviour but on a far smaller scale. Just like the public figures mentioned before what we chose to share online is also being scrutinised, judged and examined, with anything being posted then being validated or dismissed by functions such as likes and shares. Again negative reactions and the consequences can be catastrophic for the individual, take high school students for example, as the adhere to social and peer pressure the risks associated with negative online reactions can be massive, bearing significance on social status or exclusion.
I think this applies to everyone.
For ‘celebrities’, politicians and public figures every post, tweet, comment and picture they share is scrutinised, judged and examined by millions of people. Phenomena such as cancel culture is promoting this, free speech is a thing of the past if your ideals do not match the ideals of another. The negative consequences of being cancelled or ridiculed must bring immense pressures to conform to the masses, because if you dont you may lose everything.
For us ‘normal folk’ who do not live in the limelight, we suffer the same judgemental behaviour but on a far smaller scale. Just like the public figures mentioned before what we chose to share online is also being scrutinised, judged and examined, with anything being posted then being validated or dismissed by functions such as likes and shares. Again negative reactions and the consequences can be catastrophic for the individual, take high school students for example, as the adhere to social and peer pressure the risks associated with negative online reactions can be massive, bearing significance on social status or exclusion.