Our information systems aren’t broken — they’re working as intended | NiemanLab

See this page for more NiemanLab 2019 predictions for journalism; also see Facebook Is a Problem. The System It Feeds Is a Bigger One. | Medium, which notes "Facebook is a problem, but the online economy that trades on your data is a bigger one."

"I also expect more and more people to isolate (and approach with increasing anxiety) the root of the problem: the fact that the media landscape is overrun with toxic narratives and polluted information not because our systems are broken, but because our systems are working. Information and rumors and opinions spread like wildfire across social media platforms, just as they were meant to do — just as people were meant to use those platforms. Journalists cover the news most likely to generate the most engagement and clicks and cover the news that other journalists have already covered, just as the click-based web economy demands. Social platforms privilege and help spread the most popular content, because spreading popular content is how social media companies generate the most advertising revenue. Too much false and misleading information, too much harassment, too many memes, spreading too quickly with too little oversight or editorial restraint: This outcome isn’t incidental to how contemporary information systems function. It is a function of how these systems function."

Our information systems aren’t broken — they’re working as intended | NiemanLab