Initially before the internet had started to get the widespread usage it's getting now, it was believed that 'mainstream media's lies and distortions were going to be corrected by people using social media,' with the public of course bring things like injustices to light. Alternatively though, what we've ended up getting is 'mainstream media trying to cope with fake news distributed through social media.' Technology companies such as Google and Facebook have expressed their intentions to contribute to the stop of the circulation of this fake news by doing things such as removing advertising tools that let websites earn money from publications spreading false news. However another issue come forth in that not only can the news be published by people for profit reasons but also to get propaganda across. Events currently being used to display the impact that these propagandistic messages have had is both the Brexit and US Election 2016 vote. Both of these had false news going around on either side of the votes, highlighting the strength post-truth politics now has in our modern world. The phrase 'everything is true and nothing is true' relates to this particularly. What seems to be quite a major issue, new and digital media in mind here, is that the speed at which these fake stories are spread and how difficult it is to give evidence correcting the misleading information in them. Another phrase being 'a lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its trousers on,' represents the way in which these stories can posted on the internet and be disseminated without an opportunity for rebuttal, only working to further polarise the general public.
Personally I agree with the article in saying that it's not necessarily the fault of social media that fake news is becoming more prominent. It can't be doubted that the bulk of fake news is being distributed through these social networks with Facebook being particularly notable for it, but at the same time a phenomenon is occurring where the act of lying is almost being cemented as a norm and alright within society. Rather than people making false stories solely for profit, they're now also doing it to spread certain ideologies and views. With this said, I'm hard-pressed to find ways that companies can defend against this post-truth culture.
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