Questions galore on content in social and mainstream media
– Professor Rohan Samarajiva
Professor Rohan Samarajiva, delicately tagged “mainstream media”, along with the pre-labelled social media, in the club of mis and disinformative reporting.
Talking on a timely topic, gracing the Convocation of Sri Lanka College of Journalism (SLCJ) as Chief Guest at the Laksman Kadirgamar Institute on the 11th June , remarked, “Zahran used a social-media giant, YouTube. Those are user-generated content. In user-generated media, there are no controls over content. What you upload is your business. There’s nobody telling, what’s appropriate and inappropriate”.
“The question then, is how do we take down YouTube content”, he raised and referred, to the wide shared extreme content.
“The other question is, what are the algorithm, that suggests, what’re the other content you should be looking at depending on your viewing behaviour”,
The aftermath of the grave genocide of 04/21, saw the emergence of social media, adding to the noise, and, eventually, going temporarily unavailable on three occasions. Mainstream media also, added to the reckless reporting, by disseminating deliberate disinformation.
The Professor in his keynote address, remarked, based on a user’s pattern, it leaves questions of does it push you towards more extreme content? Or, does it push you, towards the middle. Who defines what extreme and middle is. These are the issues and questions, that’s being discussed throughout the world.
Quoting an example of, how social media has left an undesirable mark, the author said, the Christchurch carnage was “live streamed”. Various bids to bring down the footage promptly, went futile. It was only the start, as another wave of videos, followed-suit. That’s the kind of issue, we’re grappling up with today. We’re trying to find the technical answers, legal answers, policy answers, to handle these kind of questions.
“I don’t use the term, fake news, because, it is analytically an empty concept. Giving unnecessary importance to Donald Trump”, he said on a lighter note.