At the dawn of the technological age people have been mesmerised at the capabilities of what silicone-based chips and interconnectivity can provide. However, nowadays the decline of trust in journalism and increasingly frail policies on social media have followed, and that raises concerns for their impact politically, socially and economically.

Mission: Free speech

Among different downwards trends regarding media, social media platforms are rolling back their policies to honour free speech. On January 7, 2025 Mark Zuckerberg announced the abandonment of fact checking on Meta social media platforms – Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp. The changes in policy will start in the United States, however, the objective is to expand beyond. What is the solution? Community notes, an approach inspired from X.

Given the controversial operation of X by Elon Musk, it is doubtful that it is a considerable example to follow. X is a haven for misinformation and illegal content due to the lack of moderation. It is also accused of contributing to the reelection of Donald Trump as the president of the United States with its unwavering support from Elon Musk and the spread of propaganda on X. People have expressed their frustrations with this, and after the reelection, more than 115 000 X users in the US abandoned the app, according to Similarweb. 

The social media platform has also been at odds with the European Union’s Digital Services Act as it has violated several terms concerning misinformation, hate speech, deception, gatekeeping, and recently also for manipulating the platform’s algorithm to favour posts from far-right parties. Elon Musk has been accused of involving himself in European politics, specifically, with the recent elections in Germany. He was endorsing the German far-right party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) by posting supportive posts, interacting with the party’s posts, and live-streaming with one of the AfD leaders, Alice Weidel. 

Free speech is an important value to uphold, but we also have to be aware of its downsides if there are little to no regulations.

Point of intersection

With an increased importance of social media in people’s lives, different types of journalism have found their way in. At present, social media remains a primary source of information for many. Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, X and Reddit are popular social media platforms that have drawn people’s attention. Traditional media, such as TV and radio are on a steady decline, but it’s doubtful that these mediums will dwindle away permanently.

The way journalism is practiced on the two forms of media differs, and with it comes different advantages and disadvantages. Traditional media struggles to have an important outreach as it once did because these days it is primarily attracting older audiences, however, it still remains highly credible due to it following journalistic principles closely. On the other hand, social media has an enormous reach, fuelled by its accessibility, flexibility and engagement of audiences worldwide, but it opens a door for misinformation, addiction and isolation.

As a result, this transformation in communication has bred online journalism. With its rise we can see a shift in the way people get information and that the mentioned strengths and weaknesses are closely integrated in this new concept, but it has allowed traditional media to move to social media platforms offering different features.

Downhill from here

Over the last decade, the trust in media and journalists has been on a decline, according to a 2017 report by Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. Many factors have contributed to this with some including varied biases, agenda pushing, commercial interests and distortion of information. Due to this, people are searching for alternatives, such as influencers, commentators, citizen journalists who operate using social media platforms, but it poses its own risks. People are seeking a broader range of sources, like-minded communities and direct engagement which social media platforms allow. However, social media caters to the user, therefore when ideologies are introduced on the screen of the user and one engages, the algorithm automatically bombards the user with identical content. This introduces an echo-chamber and numbs down the critical thinking antenna of a human.

Coupled with declining standards in journalism and journalistic integrity, information can often get manipulated leading to the spread of misinformation. Many find it a challenge to distinguish between credible and trustworthy content in the endless influx of news. The most prominent public discourses include the war in Ukraine and Palestine, immigration, climate change, among others, and they are all subject to distorted information. Sky News Australia, for example, was exposed by ABC News Australia for using footage from a Free Palestine demonstration and framing it as left-wing French supporters celebrating the newly elected French government in order to fuel anti-immigration sentiments.

Increasingly, people are also avoiding news, as found by in another research by Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. This has many explanations, including other interests outside (social) media, using social media for entertainment over receiving news, overwhelming information which is often negative, misrepresentation or underrepresentation for causes they care about and perceiving news as untrustworthy. Media and journalism are finding ways to cater to the changing audiences, but is it possible to backtrack on these trends?

What’s for the future?

Social media platforms are known to cause disruption in the society if not utilised properly – conspiracy theories, misinformation, polarisation of society, echo-chambers, addiction, doomscrolling can arise from social media, but it can be severely exaggerated when it is loosely moderated. The question arises – should social media owners be politically neutral and involve themselves in political and societal discourses?

The introduction of ease into human lives and instant gratification through digital content on the internet has already changed how people are wired in their brains. It also contributes to the changing attitudes of people – low trust in media, media avoidance, shorter attention spans, and decline of journalistic standards.

Quality online journalism has a hard time to survive in the current social media environments. It is an obligation of the social media owners to install appropriate policies on the social platforms; the users have a responsibility to consume the content responsibly; news outlets have to uphold stricter journalistic standards and adapt their content to the changing user attitudes. Online journalism is the future, but we need to create an appropriate environment for it succeed.

Text: Nikola Kalēja
Featured image: Porapak Apichodilok via Pexels