By: Nick Gambino
With fake news and misinformation a continual problem across social media platforms, Facebook and Twitter have been working on numerous solutions to end the scourge. In a recent move, Twitter has confirmed they’ll be broadcasting local TV news to assist in getting the correct information out to the masses.
The rollout, as reported and confirmed to BuzzFeed News, will be seen by users when a tragedy or major breaking news occurs. This was seen with the recent shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. Twitter streamed news coverage directly from WSVN 7 in Miami next to users’ feeds, accompanied by topic-relevant tweets.
“We’re continuing to work on new ways we can surface credible and relevant information to help people stay informed,” Kayvon Beykpour of Twitter told BuzzFeed News. “By pairing live video with the conversation on Twitter, there is no faster way to see what’s happening in the world.”
This, of course, doesn’t take into account that the existence of the internet and social media itself is the reason we’re inundated with false news, incorrect information and shoddy journalism. We used to have a weekly or daily news cycle and now it’s hourly or even by the minute. The rush and manic desire to hit “publish” before the other guy, and the rate at which we consume it, is the problem.
Though this is at least an effort to improve. Facebook has also been making strides in this area with recent changes to their algorithm that will have users seeing less news and more personal posts. Twitter, with the broadcast of news, is obviously going for the opposite approach.
What do you think of Twitter making moves to legitimize itself as a news and media company? Will local news coverage assist in avoiding the spread of misinformation?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nick Gambino is a regular script writer and tech beat reporter for NewsWatch. He lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and daughter.
