OPINION:
The world changed when everyone’s friend, Tom Anderson, launched MySpace and introduced a revolutionary concept, social media. Instead of the traditional chatroom or website forum, users were now able to connect with friends, loved ones and strangers all around the globe in a new setting. MySpace began the pivot from a culture of privacy to one where users put every aspect of their lives on display for everyone to see. Unbeknownst to our friend Tom, he had created a monster that would one day become the most powerful form of communication and information sharing.
Facebook’s original intentions were relatively innocent, taking what MySpace created and making a better user interface and experience. It didn’t take long for Facebook to skyrocket in popularity, leaving MySpace to disappear from existence.
Over the next decade, algorithms were slowly introduced to cater to user interests and targeted advertising. These algorithms were specifically designed to keep users on the platform longer by funneling content designed to generate an emotional reaction that would create more engagement. The longer users were on the platform, the more ad impressions were delivered, and more ad revenue was generated to fill Facebook’s financial coffers. In a sense, these algorithms created addictive responses in users to maximize profits.
As its user base increased, engagement soared, and ad dollars kept rolling in, Facebook grew more powerful without much resistance up until 2012. Before the 2012 elections, social media was virtually nonexistent in the electoral process. Former President Barack Obama was the first political candidate to successfully harness the power of social media by taking his message directly to the people and organizing communities like never before. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube suddenly found themselves as the main forums for all political advertising and debate, a trend that would continue through the 2016 presidential election.
Social media giants were thrown into the spotlight after former President Donald Trump’s campaign tapped into the same social media strategies and techniques used by Mr. Obama’s successful 2008 and 2012 campaigns. Mr. Trump’s Twitter account had the largest engagement and following of any political candidate on the platform and literally set the tone for the news on a daily basis. Conservative influencers used this momentum to grow their followers into the tens of millions and were able, through their supportive content, to lead an unexpected upset in the 2016 race.
Until that point, all of the media, including social media, had overwhelmingly projected Hillary Clinton as the next president. Mr. Trump’s ability to use social media platforms to mobilize his base and bolster his platform caught the world by surprise and brought Big Tech to a turning point.
Publicly shocked by the outcome of the 2016 election, Big Tech launched a massive campaign to prevent a similar outcome from ever reoccurring. Conservatives were singled out by Big Tech and were demonetized, banned for 30-days, or de-platformed altogether. Fact-checking was introduced to cast doubt on content creators’ posts; even satirical memes were targeted, and content creators were subsequently banned. Big Tech’s message was clear — they would not allow Mr. Trump, nor his supporters, to use their platforms to achieve success again.
Things worsened when the coronavirus emerged in 2020. Big Tech was quick to shut down any videos, comments or articles that questioned the validity of the CDC’s mandates or advice. Many accounts found themselves banned for 30 days or their reach severely limited because they shared an article or opinion that went against the narrative being pushed by the government and the mainstream media.
Mr. Trump’s loss in 2020 set off a chain reaction that led to a mass purge of conservative accounts, followers and even his own de-platforming. The world witnessed just how powerful Big Tech had become — so powerful that it quite literally silenced a sitting president and virtually 80 million Americans.
Social media is supposed to be social. Changing brand names to hide from the past does not change the fact that social media companies and their users have a responsibility to protect the God-given right of freedom. Opinions aren’t supposed to be policed or silenced, and information should flow freely without biased fact-checking or manipulative algorithms. People are supposed to be free. Opinions are supposed to be free. Information is supposed to be free. This is why we created FreeSpace Social, an app designed for the user to be free again, as they are supposed to be.
• Jon Willis and Jaco Booyens are co-founders of FreeSpace Social.
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