Social networks exert ‘too much control’ over news, spread fake, biased stories, users report

Social media users are “highly concerned” about the way social networks manage news online, with Facebook named the main offender.

Most social media users think tech giants exert “too much control” over the news that people read and are responsible for spreading incorrect and biased stories on their networks.

The findings, from a study of more than 5000 people by the Pew Research Center, also named Facebook as the main offender, as it had become a source of news for more than half of all adults in the US.

But the findings appear to contradict claims made by Facebook in Australia, which told the consumer watchdog it did not wield “substantial market power” in news, and argued it should not have to pay media organisations for using their content.

The new social media research, based on a survey of 5107 adults in July, found adults were “highly concerned” and “pessimistic” about the way social networks prioritised, filtered, and censored news online.

“Majorities say that social media companies have too much control over the news on their sites, and that the role social media companies play in delivering the news on their sites results in a worse mix of news for users,” study authors Elisa Shearer and Elizabeth Grieco wrote.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. New research has found adults are “highly concerned” about the way social networking manage news online. Picture: AFP

Six in 10 respondents said social media companies had “too much control” over the news stories people saw, and five in 10 said their actions resulted in a worse selection of news delivered to users, with concerns “attention-grabbing” articles or those with a political bias were prioritised by the platforms.

More than half those surveyed also named “one-sided” and “inaccurate news” as “very big problems” on social media, in addition to censorship, “uncivil discussions,” and harassment of journalists.

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Despite widespread concerns about accuracy and imbalance, the Pew Research study found more than half of adults used social media as a news source. Facebook was “far and away” the most common platform for news, used by 55 per cent of all adult Americans.

The findings come appear to contradict the tech giant’s response to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s Digital Platforms Inquiry, however.

Six in 10 respondents said social media companies had “too much control” over the news stories people saw. Picture: AFP

In a 140-page response, Facebook rejected the ACCC’s recommendation to negotiate with Australian media companies over the use of their content on the basis that it did “not have substantial power” in delivering news.

“Facebook accounts for only a small proportion of news referral traffic,” the company wrote.

Facebook Australia and New Zealand policy director Mia Garlick said the tech giant should not be asked to create a “bargaining code” with news organisations to share revenue obtained by their content, but instead proposed a “Digital News Distributor Code”.

Swinburne University social media major director Dr Belinda Barnet said Facebook’s argument was “predictable” and designed to protect its advertising revenue.

“You would expect them to take this position,” she said. “They’re not going to roll over and say ‘we’ve been using their content without giving them any compensation for it,’ they’re never going to say that.”

The Federal Government is expected to release submissions into the Digital Platforms Inquiry next week.