In the grip of social media giants, we have access to misinformation
Logos of US social networks Facebook, Instagram and mobile messaging service WhatsApp on the screens of a smartphone and a tablet on October 05, 2020. Facebook has been found to be in cahoots with Cambridge Analytica to enact political influence using data across several 'client' countries affecting millions of users. PHOTO | LIONEL BONAVENTURE | AFP
I mean, it is one thing to vaguely know that the Facebook social media empire is wide-reaching and powerful. But when the global outage that happened a few days ago became breaking news across media outlets, that's when it hit me just what a monopoly can truly do.
The outage wasn't even that long in a country where power blackouts can last for long hours. However, according to a CNET editor who spoke to Al Jazeera, the Facebook platform alone is apparently used by over half of the world's population at least once a month. That is astounding.
