Social Media's Hate Speech: A COMM-3020 Report on Big Tech's Role

This report examines the critical issues of hate speech on social media platforms and the responsibility of tech companies in addressing them. It begins by identifying key factors like stopping hate message circulation and raising awareness about fake messages. The report then provides a critical analysis of current tech company efforts, such as Twitter's removal of ISIS recruiters and Google's policies on YouTube advertisements, while also pointing out areas where these efforts fall short. It discusses the impact of hate speech on public safety, corporate revenue, and brand reputation. The report concludes with recommendations including training on media ethics, monitoring social media data, and encouraging reporting of incidents. The goal is to promote a peaceful society and mitigate the potential for real-life violence stemming from online hate speech and misinformation.

Student name
INSTITUTIONAL AFFILIATION(S)
COMM-3020

P a g e | 1
Big Tech made the social media mess. It has to fix it
By David Goldman
Introduction
Social media has provided people with a new platform where they can easily express
their hate and deep-seated opinions to the others which intensify any given situations.
Moreover, many of the followers have transferred hate speeches into violence which implies
tech companies show some responsibility to control the creation that has developed into an
awkward condition. This report aims at identifying issues raised in the article "Big Tech
made the social media mess. It has to fix it" and explain the reason behind choosing the
factors which need to be addressed by tech companies critically.
Factors that need to be considered
While addressing the problem, and eliminating the hate speech from the social media
platform, the following two factors need to be considered by tech companies:
 Stoppage of hate messages circulation
 Making people aware of fake messages on social media sites.
The two identified factors have been chosen because I feel that social media platforms as
huge as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube need to stop hate speeches considering violence
stemming from people's rage. The second factor i.e. making people aware of fake messages
needs to be taken care of as people who are considered as a significant asset in social media

P a g e | 2
firms can be impacted adversely due to hate speeches which in turn can affect tech
companies’ reputation along with reducing profit margins in them.
I feel that the two identified factors need to be considered equally. While millions of
people make their posts each day in the form of micro-blogging or YouTube videos, any hate
speech shared or miscommunication made regarding fake messages can severely impact
people surrounding besides making the entire nation fall into criminals' prey.
Critical analysis
Every tech companies have specific rules which govern their platforms along with
putting certain protocols to monitor hate speeches and threats related to violence. While many
of them have succeeded in several cases, few platforms seem still not ready for it as
mentioned in the article. Twitter has made a remarkable move by getting rid of ISIS recruiters
from their platforms whereas YouTube and Facebook have labelled several stories as fake.
Google, on the other hand, has integrated many policies in YouTube advertisements after
identifying that more than 300 organizations promoted hate groups by making advertisements
on YouTube channels. However, there is more room for tech companies.
Many critics claim that Twitter moderation does not work as people still post death
threats and hate speeches alongside responding to other complaints. Facebook continues to
struggle with legal lawsuits and government to sow disruptions, especially in the US.
WhatsApp too has become a major issue in a country like India where faking viral rumours
via mobile messaging has led to several mob lynching cases in the past year.
Looking at the revenue side of tech companies, the Twitter stock fell by 25% over the
past three years while it withdrew millions of fake accounts. The initiative was taken to
improve its platform and the firm's leader felt that it was the right thing to do that time.
Similarly, the Facebook stock also went down as Facebook invested billions of dollars to

P a g e | 3
make its platform secure and safer which made investors concern about Facebook's growth
stalling. It is feasible that companies share prices can drop impactfully besides making the
firm’s leader unclear what their next steps could be. But then, ensuring public safety and
security must be the primary concern of corporates which requires them taking critical steps
to eliminate identified issues.
Recommendations
 Training and awareness on media ethics: any hate speech is stemmed from realizing
that people have the freedom to express their views and considers it as a human right.
Making people aware and educating them about media ethics can be followed by tech
companies to promote a peaceful society.
 Monitoring social media data: any data that comes with keywords related to public
violence or hate speeches can be monitored and addressed immediately with the help
of big data analytics software.
 Encouraging witnesses and victims of hate speech to report any ongoing incident
via personal messaging systems: these warnings can be made publicly so that any
new intermediaries understand that they can fall into crime suspicion following any
unethical move is taken through media platforms.
Conclusion
Hate speech and prejudice can be seen throughout history since social media
platforms came into existence. This has made many researchers explain and describe the
consequences behind the digital era by giving several examples such as Sayoc threatening
Democratic politicians and Bowers making hate speech on Gab. The effect of social media
mess can escalate rapidly and lead to real-life violence which implies tech companies
undertake critical steps in addressing the issue critically.

P a g e | 4
References
Goldman, D. (2018). Big Tech made the social media mess. It has to fix it. Retrieved from
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/10/29/tech/social-media-hate-speech/index.html?
utm_source=headtopics&utm_medium=news&utm_campaign=2018-10-29