In the old days, information used to be spread via speeches, printed word, and word of mouth. The information being exchanged was fairly limited and this was the form for any propaganda. In the twentieth century, and with the rapid technological change, propaganda was given a greater reach. Televisions and cinema was able to transfer media and images to people. And with the introduction of the Internet, people have been given access to a wide range of information.
The internet is far from being able to be regulated. Unfortunately, corporations and politicians have realized that fact. Fake news has spread around the world with social media being the key tool to spread false information. Facebook and Twitter share millions of data on a daily basis, data that is not verified.
The effect of such fake news was clear in the latest US elections where studies have shows that fake sites and news were the main reason behind Trump winning the US presidential elections. Currently Silicon Valley giants like Google and Facebook are still trying to understand how fake news managed to spread so widely without being verified.
Until this day, the internet is still not open to everyone. Information online is still limited to some individuals. This is clear when we see how countries and especially politicians are fighting net neutrality. Net neutrality is the standard which says that all individuals have equal free access to content online. It assures the concept which says that the company that connects you to the internet does not control what you do online. The internet is still being controlled in many countries such as China, the Arab Gulf, and Iran. For example, in China, Facebook is banned. China has its own version of the giant social media, called Weibo. In the Arab Gulf, in countries such as KSA, users online are being continuously monitored and access of information is very limited. Turkish people also had their share of being blocked access to Whatsapp, Facebook and Twitter.
We conclude that information online cannot be controlled. Fake news online have massive impact on the fate of many countries, and politicians use the internet for their own propaganda. Countries still monitor user activity online, and net neutrality is not being applied.
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