Once the word got out that the Russians effectively abused Facebook to interfere in the 2016 election, and later that Facebook experienced a security breach which impacted millions of Americans, the potential dangers connected with mega-technology companies began to seep into Americans’ thinking.
However it was the latest news that Facebook engaged in a huge, cosmic PR effort to hide their sins and re-burnish their golden image which caught even more people by surprise. It appears that Facebook went to great lengths to protect their reputation as a company which only worked to benefit society. They did not want to have their reputation sullied by evidence that they in fact, had the wherewithal to wreak a great deal of harm as well.
The New York Times revealed that Facebook embarked on a calculated effort to mitigate their offenses and re-burnish their image as a company whose only goal was to bring people together. They engaged in opposition research to shake -up their major critics. And they obfuscated their answers as to how they bungled the monitoring of the Russians and were negligent in protecting the accounts of their members.
Facebook had a great deal to lose if Americans began to demand that there needed to more controls on social media. The government was already demanding to know more about Facebook’s apparent laxness.. If investigations turned up more missteps, the government could bring on restrictions which would decrease profits.
This article is not the expose article on Facebook’s cover-up tactics. It rather takes a more philosophical look at social media and what it may and may not be doing to the values like trust and hard work.we hold dear. It prompts readers to weigh what is gained by social media and what perhaps is lost in the bargain. It does not provide the answers, but it does make the reader think.