The rise of political polarization around the world
Do you ever watch the news and hear something that makes you think, how is this happening? Is this really happening? I have found myself wondering exactly this, more and more often lately.
I have been paying close attention to US politics since the last election and I am astounded every day by the outrageous lies told by the president and the fact that he always gets away with it. Hell, he is even applauded for it. From questing Obama’s citizenship to calling him the founder of ISIS. From calling Ms. Clinton a demon to the “Grab ’em by the pussy” fiasco. Calling immigrants from Mexico to be all rapists to asking congresswomen to “go back” to their countries. This list can go on and on and on. Trump has made his presidency a reality television show where things are often so appalling that you feel that they are scripted just for entertainment. Unfortunately, this is a nightmare for many people in the US and around the world.
But Trump is not the real problem here. The real problem is how someone who prefers to talk about conspiracy theories instead of facts got so much support that he is now one of the most powerful men in the world. How can someone like Alex Jones get away with calling the Sandy Hook school shooting a staged act and the victims to be actors paid by the government? Yes, these people are not the problem itself, they are just individuals who are exploiting the real problem: unregulated social media.
In today’s day and age when a large percentage of people are connected to the internet and are consumers of social media in some form, it is fair to say that social media has a considerable impact on our world. Its unregulated nature has allowed people to spread lies and conspiracy theories. The algorithms used by social media apps make it such that people only see what they want to see even if that is not the reality. They act like echo chambers where thoughts from the darkest parts of people’s minds find validation and acknowledgment. And this is not just a problem in the US. Another great example of this is India where the politicians are exploiting the religious divide by making inflammatory speeches and promoting acts of violence in Facebook groups and Whatsapp forwards. The government has managed to totally divert the attention of its citizens from the real issues by portraying the religious identity of a majority of the citizens to be under threat.
It is encouraging to see that social media companies are enforcing some level of regulation now by fact-checking posts and tweets of influential people. But it is far from what is actually needed. What we also need is accountability. People spreading hate through their lies should be held accountable for their content and be punished. As long as the majority of people stay ignorant of this problem, we wouldn’t have any strong action taken by the government or the social media giants. Hopefully, things will change for the better before the world suffers any more damage by the hands of these opportunists who thrive on hate and divide.