Open menu

Block hashtags spreading fake news

In the social media age, where hashtags greatly affect people's thinking, we have to limit the fake and misleading ones. 

One of the major dangers of spreading fake news is that they manipulate public opinion and lead to a distortion of reality. Social media hashtags or tags, for example, based on unreliable or false information often mislead people, since they affect their way of thinking. Fake news and tags have excessively been used as a tool in political conflicts, among others in the occupation of territories. More specifically, the hashtag #CrimeaIsRussia, which has been used as a tool of Russia's disinformation campaign, can be seen as a means of hybrid warfare. The problem is that if the above tag remains online for many years, the next generations that will click on it may form a false sense of reality about the political situation in the Crimean region.

As a next step, the EU must work on limiting fake and misleading social media tags and hashtags. It is necessary for Europe to find the appropriate tools in this direction in order to protect its values, the rule of law, and human rights. 

 

Read more

What people think

9 comments on Block hashtags spreading fake news
Fani-Christina Papacharalampous  • 23 March 2023

Your idea of limiting fake and misleading social media tags and hashtags is certainly important in today's digital age. Addressing disinformation campaigns and protecting the integrity of information available online is crucial for preserving democratic values, ensuring accurate public discourse, and safeguarding national security. Here are a few thoughts on how this could be approached:

Encourage social media platforms to take responsibility: The EU could work closely with social media platforms to encourage them to monitor and remove misleading hashtags and tags. These platforms could implement stricter guidelines and utilize AI-based content moderation tools to identify and take action against fake news and disinformation.

Establish an independent oversight body: The EU could consider creating an independent body that oversees the handling of disinformation on social media platforms. This body could work collaboratively with platforms, providing guidance and support for identifying and removing misleading content while ensuring freedom of speech is preserved.

Media literacy and education: The EU should invest in media literacy programs to educate citizens on how to identify fake news and disinformation. By improving critical thinking skills, individuals will be better equipped to evaluate the credibility of information found online, reducing the impact of misleading hashtags and tags.

Fact-checking initiatives: Encouraging and supporting independent fact-checking organizations can help counter the spread of fake news and disinformation. These organizations can play a crucial
role in debunking false narratives and providing the public with accurate information. Collaborating with social media platforms to flag and remove content that has been proven false by reputable fact-checkers can also contribute to limiting the spread of misleading hashtags and tags.

Panagiotis  • 24 March 2023

During the meta pandemic period where Europe became a battlefield 77 years after WW2 it is obvious that in the Era of technology and democracy the democratic values of life, health and roof are violated. 
Europe needs to find solutions in order to keep and ensure the peace and democracy in its territory, but also to engage and help the people who are victims of the autocratic policy.

Maya  • 24 March 2023

To be honest I don’t think that more censorship will do good because who gets to decide what is fake and what isn’t. The risk of taking away freedom of speech is too high I would say.

Alexandre  • 24 March 2023

Who will decide which news is a fake one? Giving such power to a governmental entity is a dangerous way to threaten free speech and freedom of information.

Response to Alexandre by gopsters@gmail.com  • 09 April 2023
This is an automated translation. ()

I fully agree!

Clara Herrera Fernández  • 24 March 2023

I consider freedom of the press to be an essential pillar of today's democratic societies, but it must certainly be truthful and contrasted information at all times so as not to cause a negative effect on the population (disinformation).

Tomás Gouveia  • 24 March 2023

Fake news on social media platforms present a challenge to the resilience of our democracies. By keeping both freedom of speech and the importance of promoting accurate information in mind. Working on flagging posts containing fake news and misleading information seems to be the most promising solution.

Allowing social media users access to these posts allows us to avoid the issue of suppressing freedom of speech. Yet, flagging allows users to be able to discern false information.

It is important to note that the role of monitoring these contents must remain in the hands of the platforms, under modern legislation. Activity on social media platforms must be the responsibility of the platforms themselves.

Socrates  • 28 March 2023

I believe it is best to leave the administration and policymaking of the EU under its current technocratic form. After all, the EU's main advantage and most effective bodies, such as the European Central Bank or the European Commission. Additionally, laws passed on an EU level supersede national law and as such are obligatory for all member states to apply. So, it would leave many nations unsatisfied with the passing of such legislations, especially since European Parliament elections are held every 5 years, with parties and opinions gaining and losing influence every time. As for national minority parties, it can once again be very harmful to the member states hosting such minorities, which again provide inconsistent and sometimes extremist views, endangering the national sovereignty and decision-making processes of member countries. It should however take on a more active and uniform role in regards to common EU political & foreign policy. Engaging and promoting temporary committees are a great way to achieve that goal, as was mentioned, it would reflect the political composition of the parliament and move forward with issues in certain political fields. In regards to the substitution system, I would just like to ask who would take their place? Since members of parliaments have been elected by their citizens, how would one introduce another candidate without holding elections?

DAVIDE
 • 30 March 2023
This is an automated translation. ()

EU presence on the territory of the Member States to create information and prevent governments from spreading disinformation against the EU.

Any thoughts on this idea?

96 votes with an average rating of 2.4.