Role of Social Media Use in Democracy

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-59
Author(s):  
Neelam Kumari ◽  
Joginder Singh Malik ◽  
Dangi Pooja Arun

Social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, and Google hold the potential to alter civic engagement, thus essentially hijacking democracy, by influencing individuals towards a particular way of thinking. Today, social media plays a crucial role in facilitating and transmitting content related to all the matters that have larger effect on public opinions and democracy. Due to higher use of social media among new generations, they are exposed to politics more frequently, and in a way that is integrated into their social lives. New media hailed as vehicles for providing a voice to the voiceless. But the restrictions imposed by the government on social media sites and internet services, while allowing only that content that are government friendly amounts to compelled speech. This paper explores how social media have become a platform for fake news and propaganda to influence certain audiences towards a particular way of thinking. When it comes to healthy democratic networks, it is important that the news remains true so it doesn’t affect people levels of trust. A certain amount of trust is very crucial for healthy and well-functioning democratic systems.

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-137
Author(s):  
Mhd. Rasidin ◽  
Doli Witro ◽  
Betria Zarpina Yanti ◽  
Rahma Fitria Purwaningsih ◽  
Wiji Nurasih

The freedom of use of social media has been exploited by a number of people to distribute information that is questionable. The fake news or hoax is disseminated to lead public opinion related certain thing that is motivated by personal and group interests. In 2019, Masyarakat Telematika (Mastel) launched a survey result which stated that 34.60% of Indonesians had received hoax news every day through social media. Starting from this, the government’s role is needed to participate in filtering information circulating on social media. Through this study, the author wants to examine the role of government in preventing and assisting the society in filtering and clarifying hoax news on social media about elections in the political year. This study uses a qualitative approach that is library research. Reference materials are obtained from books, journals, research reports, magazines related to hoaxes, elections, and social media. After the data is collected, the author analyze the data using analysis techniques including data reduction, data presentation, and drawing conclusions. The results showed that the purpose of spreading hoaxes was to earn money and spread the ideology. The rapid development of hoaxes on social media is an urgency for the government to conduct various ways immediately to overcome this, both by increasing the capacity and security within the government and by collaborating with several expert agencies.


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justyna Masłyk

Abstract The main purpose of this article is to present the results of research concerning the use of social media by companies from the SME sector in Podkarpackie Province. The article includes data obtained in the first stage of the study, which is a part of a research project on the use of social media in the area of creating the image of an organization / company as an employer.The survey covered the entire population of companies from the SME sector, which are registered in Podkarpackie Province (REGON database). The research phase, the results of which are presented in this article, mainly involved the analysis of data on companies from the SME sector in Podkarpackie Province in terms of their presence on the Internet (having an individual website, having company profiles on selected social networks). The results of the first stage of the study confirm that the companies see the potential of the online presence / functioning in social media (more and more companies have their own website, Facebook profiles). The dynamics of changes in this area is definitely not adequate to the pace of new media development. On the basis of preliminary results of further stages of the research, it can also be concluded that in the vast majority of cases, however, these are non-strategic and non-systematic activities.


2020 ◽  
pp. 177-196
Author(s):  
Turgay Yerlikaya ◽  
Seca Toker

This article focuses on how virtual social networks affect socio-political life. The main theme of the article is how social networks such as Facebook and Twitter can direct voters’ electoral preferences, especially during election time, through the dissemination of manipulative content and fake news. The use of social media, which was initially thought to have a positive effect on democratization, has been extensively discussed in recent years as threat to democracy. Examples from the 2016 U.S. presidential elections, France, Brexit, Germany, the UK and Turkey will be used to illustrate the risks that social networks pose to democracy, especially during election periods.


JEMBATAN ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-238
Author(s):  
Lia Febria Lina ◽  
Berlintina Permatasari

Social media is currently being used by both large companies and SMEs. For large companies the use of social media has been used successfully in reaching potential consumers. However, for SMEs, the marketing strategy of using social media is still being questioned. The purpose of this study is to fill the gaps in previous research by examining the driving factors for SMEs in using social media in promoting their products and testing how the performance of SMEs after adopting this technology is good both in financial and non-financial aspects that have not been done much research. The results of this study found that the compatible, cost-effective, interactive variables had a positive effect on the use of social media and subsequently had a positive effect on both financial and non-financial performance. However, the moderating role of social media capabilities cannot strengthen the relationship between use and the performance of SMEs. The results of this study are expected to be the basis for evaluating SMEs so that they can use digital media to support their business. The government must also pay attention to this to actively socialize the use of digital media for MSMEs so that the performance of SMEs can increase.


Author(s):  
Edeama O. Onwuchekwa

Social networking is a Web-based service that allows individuals to construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and view and navigate their list of connections and those made by others within the system. No doubt, social media has great potential in taking library operations to the next level. It is in the light of this that this chapter examines the role of social media and social networking in information service provision in libraries. To achieve this objective, the chapter looks at social media as a tool in libraries, advantages of social media in libraries, social media and social networks, and practical examples on the use of social media and social network tools together with how libraries can forge ahead due to the use and application of social media and social networks to their daily operations. Conclusion and recommendations based on these highlights are provided.


POLITEA ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 75
Author(s):  
Ratna Istriyani

<p>Democracy as a political and the government system has demonstrated its existence in the history of the world. This existence can be seen from the many countries that implement it, especially Indonesia. The democratic process becomes an interesting phenomenon because it cannot be separated from the dynamics of the community itself.</p><p>At present the community has entered the digital era, that the utilization of information and communication technology are massive. One phenomenon of concern is the widespread use of social media. The reality of the utilization of social media not only showed the trend of community interaction and communication but also the trend of political participation which correlates with the sustainability of democracy in Indonesia. At least, it has happened in the last decades, where political figures have been using social media as a channel to construct personal image. On the other hand, social media for civil society is as a new media (alternative media) in channeling aspirations, support, and even criticism to political and government figures.</p><p>Social media trends also cannot be separated from the figure of young people as massive users of these contemporary products. Even social media is a preference for young people to participate in upholding democratization in Indonesia. It can be seen from the posts or their responses to the socio-political conditions in this country through their account lines and the number of comments they wrote on the accounts of a number of political and government figures.</p><p><strong><em>Keywords: democracy, social media, youth. </em></strong></p>


Author(s):  
Stephen Gichuhi Kimotho ◽  
Carolyne Nyaboe Nyarang'o

Terrorism targeting corporate bodies remains one the greatest risks to the most critical intangible asset of any organization: reputation. Thus, effective crisis communication is critical during and after terror crisis to mitigate further damage on the reputation. To date, many studies around the globe have tended to focus on the role of the traditional media during terror crisis, paying minimal attention to organisations' use of social media during terror crisis. Using a descriptive qualitative case study, this study examined the role of social media during 2013 Westgate Mall terror attack, in Nairobi, Kenya. Findings revealed that the Interior Ministry (IM) used Twitter as the preferred social media platform to communicate with various stakeholders. Accommodative crisis response strategies were the most used by the IM. However, the ministry was plagued with inaccuracies and inconsistencies in its responses on social media compromising reputation of the government further. Balancing the need for speedy response, accuracy and consistency, remained the greatest challenge for the IM.


Author(s):  
Stephen Gichuhi Kimotho ◽  
Carolyne Nyaboe Nyarang'o

Terrorism targeting corporate bodies remains one the greatest risks to the most critical intangible asset of any organization: reputation. Thus, effective crisis communication is critical during and after terror crisis to mitigate further damage on the reputation. To date, many studies around the globe have tended to focus on the role of the traditional media during terror crisis, paying minimal attention to organisations' use of social media during terror crisis. Using a descriptive qualitative case study, this study examined the role of social media during 2013 Westgate Mall terror attack, in Nairobi, Kenya. Findings revealed that the Interior Ministry (IM) used Twitter as the preferred social media platform to communicate with various stakeholders. Accommodative crisis response strategies were the most used by the IM. However, the ministry was plagued with inaccuracies and inconsistencies in its responses on social media compromising reputation of the government further. Balancing the need for speedy response, accuracy and consistency, remained the greatest challenge for the IM.


Author(s):  
Mehmet Karanfiloglu

In the digitalized world, the use of social media is increasing and spreading to many areas. Moreover, the process of digitalization of everything transforms the media tools and fits mass communication into digital coding together with interpersonal communication. Health communication ensues between doctors, patients, and other healthcare professionals, and its strength is important. Health institutions, doctors, and patients can now communicate through new media and discuss health-related issues through these channels. Many phone applications have transformed health into e-health by digitizing the patient-doctor relationship. On the other hand, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which spread from China to the whole world and affected almost every country in a short time, forced the world to a more isolated lifestyle. This study investigates the role of new media opportunities in health communication during the pandemic. In this context, the literature research is examined.


Author(s):  
Leticia Bode ◽  
Emily K. Vraga ◽  
Kjerstin Thorson

Chapter 7 tackles the challenges posed by misinformation campaigns and fake news, an issue of growing concern in America and around the world. Following the 2016 U.S. presidential elections, academics and pundits alike struggled to make sense of what happened, and many pointed to the role of fake news and misinformation more broadly in leading voters astray in their assessments of the two major candidates for president. This chapter draws on survey data to investigate how media use in general, and use of social media and partisan media more specifically, affected belief in six fake news stories directly following the 2016 election. The analysis assesses whether use of different types of media affected belief in misinformation—including messages congruent and incongruent with their own candidate preferences—providing insight into what was to blame for belief in fake news in the 2016 elections.


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