From its inception democratic life in the United States has promised to protect the search for truth by allowing ideas to compete with one another on fair and free terms. Citizens have long placed their faith in this “marketplace of ideas.” This past year, however, has stoked doubts that such a marketplace can cultivate honest engagement in a polarized age.
After all, Facebook, a frequently visited marketplace of ideas for its two billion users, has failed to stop the spread of fake news. More recently the social media giant has been mired in controversy following revelations that Cambridge Analytica used the personal information of millions of Facebook users to construct psychological profiles of voters leading up to the Brexit and 2016 U.S. presidential votes.
Read Full Article »