Social media macroeconomic trends, revealed by GlobalData

The growth of democratic engagement on social media, particularly in a US presidential election year, has stoked fears that platforms could be abused to influence the result, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

The company’s report, ‘Tech, Media, & Telecom Trends 2020 – Thematic Research’, reveals that these fears will be exacerbated by the inability of leading firms to guard against fake news and emerging threats like deepfakes.

Listed below are the top social media macroeconomic trends, as identified by GlobalData.

Splinternet 

The splinternet is the fragmentation of the internet, due to factors such as tax avoidance, censorship, geopolitics, cybercrime, nationalism, and privacy. Governments and regulators with growing concerns about fake news, national security, and online safety are beginning to target leading social networks. 

Russia passed a bill in 2019 to establish control over the country’s internet traffic. Similarly, China will block access to specific parts of the internet, particularly social media sites. 

Democratic engagement

Social media platforms can be tools for democratic engagement and participation. This engagement involves the online exchange of political ideas and direct and active engagement with political leaders and organisations. Social media has led to an increase in the democratic engagement of non-traditional participants; specifically people aged under-25. 

Social media may encourage voting among non-traditional demographics and this will be particularly pertinent in 2020. Tech firms will have to respond. Twitter has already announced that it will ban political advertisements, with pressure mounting on Facebook to follow suit. 

Filter bubbles

A filter bubble is created when the algorithms that personalise individuals’ online experiences cause the user to be exposed only to content that conforms to and reinforces their own opinions. Filter bubbles can convince individuals that their view is the dominant one because they do not see opposing arguments. 

There will be increasing attempts to guard against filter bubbles by social media firms through altering algorithmic programming, whilst ensuring that algorithms still effectively target users for ads. 

Deepfakes

Deepfakes use artificial intelligence (AI) to alter video and audio clips of real people without their permission, to create content that seems real but is fundamentally corrupt. Deepfakes are primarily used to imitate, parody, or slander politicians. They leave little trace but can erode trust at an alarming rate. 

We expect the number of deepfakes disseminated on social media to increase in 2020. This may lead governments to take regulatory action and advocate more serious measures such as the banning of videos on social media. 

Fake news

As the influence of old media companies continues to decline, a handful of social media companies are playing a greater role in the dissemination of news. Facebook has hired fact checkers to flag disputed stories, cut off advertising revenue to fake news sites and begun to vet advertising more thoroughly. 

As more people democratically engage online, fake news will continue to corrupt the information disseminated and allow democracy to become subverted by malignant interests. This will step up regulation targeting fake news at its source, or at the companies whose platforms are susceptible to it.

Source: GlobalData