If haven’t been living under a rock, you would know that Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook guy!) is acting a lot like he’s considering running for president. If you aren’t a personified rock, you would know that this is terrible for everyone.
For the past few months, the social media mogul has been taking a tour of Real America™ and showing his appreciation for non-controversial Real American™ things like local newspapers, the automotive industry, and family dinners. How wholesome!
This post-partisan, charmingly bland campaign has been lauded by several media defenders, particularly Salon’s Maegan Carberry, who declares that “we picked the wrong billionaire” (because there’s a right one??!!??). She writes.
His vision for an interconnected earth isn’t necessarily a bad one. It’s really still in a nascent phase, from a historical perspective. So, there’s much to learn about how his business and philanthropy and political efforts will impact society. Whether Zuck launches a campaign or not, he’ll still be in a position of enormous power and he won’t be perfect. But as the de facto figurehead of the next generation, he and his work could mature into something profound and healing for the whole planet along the likes of something we’ve never seen before. If he ran for president and won, it could usher in the millennial era and legitimize it at the institutional level, clearing a path for peers to follow. It would draw a line in the sand between the new and old worlds.
She, argues, essentially, that Zuckerberg’s control over the media would be an asset to his presidency, rather than a totalitarian nightmare. And while it is true that Zuckerberg does wield a great deal of influence over media by way of his sometimes deceptive algorithm, it is also true that it would be a major conflict of interest.
As alarming as our current president’s conflicts may be, they would seen almost tame in comparison to the massive influence that Facebook currently wields over the world of politics. Fourty-four percent of Americans get their news from Facebook, a number that will only continue to rise. And with Zuckerberg capitalizing on the Fake News™ panic to enlist a team of journalists to determine whether the stories being shared on his site are Facebook-Worthy™, Zuckerberg’s editorial influence will also continue to grow.
When framed in that context, it starts to sound a little less innocuous. And, considering that the most recent news coming out of Facebook has demonstrated it as a company with less than stellar morals, it sounds even more concerning. It’s better that you learn now, before Facebook has taken over the world. Anyways, be sure to share this post on Facebook!