About Culture Wars, Troll Farms, and Elections
About the last couple of years social media seems to be a fertile ground for extremist discourses and radicalism in general, but often this may not be something "naturally" occurring in this environment, but an action orchestrated by groups that want to create a division in certain societies.
I have taken as an example a video of a youtuber and three reports talking about the case of a "radical feminist against manspreading" in Russia. The girl's odious action had an equally odious reaction, where several people stood against feminism and progressivism in general.
This radicalization, as the links show, was a manipulation by a government to promote its agenda. However, those strategies don't come only from governments, but also from "marketing companies" all around the world, including the use of an army of social media fake accounts, aiming to legitimize radical speeches. With elections taking place next year in Canada, voters must remain vigilant that this is already a reality. Last presidential elections in the US, Brexit in the United Kingdom, and the 2018 presidential elections in Brazil (where I come from) are examples of how voters were manipulated by fake news of all kinds, always through social media, and maybe even influenced the results. This manipulation artificially created "two sides," where either you belong to one group, or another, where you must buy an entire ideological packet, closed and ready for consumption.
This Manichean narrative, of good against evil, is very simplistic and unhealthy for democracy. We should remember that most people in real life are moderate and be mindful of the fake news produced with the intent to divide and radicalize, suffocating the exchange of ideas.
Video:
Manspreading Bleach Hoax - Idiot Youtubers Get Fooled!
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