A few weeks ago President Biden invited a handful tiktok creators to a zoom call to inform them on certain issues that are going on in the world today so it reaches a new generation that is not known to regularly watch the seven o'clock news. He makes use of these creators because he is well aware of their reach and the influence they have on young impressionable people, who if we're being honest probably won't do much more research that listening to what those creators have to say. The use of these creators is a genius strategy, since it is important in a democracy to have a well informed populace. That being said, how much information is being given, is it impartial and do these creators get any benefits by being kind of a liaison between young people and the government? Let's talk about it!
I think to start off this conversation we need to make clear that "social media journalists", i.e. people who "break" news solely through social media, whether they have a degree in journalism or not, are not too different from journalists who are connected to major news outlets. They don't just do this out of the goodness of their hearts, they have a financial stake in reporting on news, some even thousands of dollars more than traditional journalists. They truly aren't much further removed from corporate interests than traditional journalists. They gain exponentially more when they put out content that is controversial, groundbreaking, is divisive etc. they get paid by engagement. that's why we should be weary when we see content about certain issues that are put out by people who are not professional or reliable sources. When we see videos about Ukraine or Covid or anything else that is going on in the world right now, we should keep in mind that these people that are doing these bitesize news segments on tiktok for example have a vested financial interest in causing division and a sensationalized story, since again, they get paid by engagement. so, we should think very critically about the content we are interacting with, and the content we are learning from.
Hey Sophia, Great post!
ReplyDeleteI think it is safe to say that traditional journalism has been plummeting for a while now. Going from newspaper to television, and now to social media, journalism content is easier to access now more than ever. When TikTok came out a few years back, I would never guess that I would get my content from there either. I was still watching the local and national news channels. I now catch myself finding someone giving news out on my for you page, and all of a sudden I am lost in their profile watching all their daily news update videos. It is like a drug, I cannot stop.
Good luck with finals & the rest of the semester!
TikTok is a huge social media platform that almost every Gen-z/Millennial has and uses. It's a great way to spread entertainment and news to a mass audience. I think it's also a great way for politicians to campaign. However, I think it is dangerous for a government to recruit top users into sharing state-endorsed news. These users have a wide reach and the government is using that to sway the younger audience.
ReplyDeleteI think this was a great post! It is important to take into the account TikTok has had on traditional journalism. While I still enjoy watching the evening news, many others in my generation depend on social media as a news source. I do like viewing quick videos on TikTok that give me updates on what is going on in the world, but I always remind myself that it might not be completely accurate information. As you said these users are driven by how much engagement they get. After watching these videos I tend to research to make sure the information I am viewing is correct. My concern with all of this is that younger, more impressionable, users will not be able to realize that these videos may not always include completely factual information.
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