Reputation strategy expert Véronique Reil-Soult has written an interesting book that challenges the revolution of public opinion created by social networks.
Hate speech, cyberbullying, fake information, conspiracy theory, mass manipulation… In less than twenty years, social networks have taken an exponential role in our lives. Reputation strategy expert, crisis communication and opinion specialist, co-founder and president of Backbone consulting firm Véronique Reil-Soult(1) publishes: The Ultimate Power, the truth about the influence of social media (2). Through numbers and anecdotes, his book draws a revealing panorama between the truths, dangers and benefits of this new 5th power (after the powers of public opinion, the state and the press). It gives us here some keys to curb its excesses.
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The influence of social networks
“Fifteen years ago, social networks were about very few people, only the lucky few who were a little bit initiated… Today, professionally, you can promote your work there, share your knowledge, your research or find information – c It’s quite it’s easy. networks such as LinkedIn. For the new generation, say 15-25 year olds, it has changed a lot. Their use starts earlier and earlier, actually at the worst time, when they are building their social image. Some behaviors can then become extremely disturbing, especially on networks like Instagram, where a person plays with the glamor of things and the staging of their intimacy. They post photos, tell what they are doing, and in the end, they no longer have control over what they want to offer. Moreover, they easily fall into the logic of comparison, which causes those who spend a lot of time there to become depressed, studies have shown, imagining that their lives are heartbreaking compared to others. On messengers like WhatsApp or others, and even on encrypted messengers, we also discuss with others with a complex social idea to manage. That’s why you need to give them keys.
Double effect of power
“The best and the worst gather here. On the plus side, people feel less alone with RS. And many social currents have arisen. The #MeToo or #Blacklivesmatter movements are good examples. Let us also add that the reality, like the testimonies that appeared on the spot, cannot be hidden anymore. On the negative side, we can mention cyberbullying, mob effect, disinformation and opinion manipulation. Finally, the real issue around SR is how to educate people so that abuse is as small as possible. How to strengthen the critical spirit and give it means.
Transparency of algorithms
“The platform should be able to share the reality of its algorithm, explain how it works without necessarily sharing the code and without going through obscure terms of acceptance.” But rather explaining how it works and what you can choose, for example, you can choose to receive news only from your friends or like-minded people, but it’s up to you, not you. We can also choose to confront radically different viewpoints. Or that we don’t want information on such and such a topic. Today we cannot. we pass the algorithm. None of the big platforms have a clear transparent algorithm. Now why not say more and more clearly. “This is how it works, you tick boxes, you agree with this, with that or you don’t. But you choose.” For example, do you know exactly what you clicked on Facebook as permissions and rules for sending information from people registered on the network? No, and that’s okay. However, they must be given to us. For example, people on YouTube don’t know that the algorithm is related to popularity, it’s the same as on Google. Algorithms push the most viewed videos there. Which is not at all the same logic as on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or even TikTok. But no one explains it to us. However, it could be done in a simple way.
Ways to counter the attack
“We must be able to verify that the platforms really provide means of condemnation. For example, if we are being stalked, even if great progress has been made, we must have clear measures and codes; the difficulty is that three-quarters of the platforms don’t have the rules. However, since today the social image passes by social networks, leaving it, not being there, is extremely difficult. Actually, the problem is endless. There are thousands of moderators, but they moderate more to put hashtags under videos to make them more popular than to remove horrible things even if they try… That’s why I don’t think it matters. relying solely on artificial intelligence cannot work, especially. because it is against the interests of the platforms. It remains for us to find solutions to become sane. And for that, we need to provide the means to decipher the algorithms, to understand how the platform works, to specify the rules that everyone is willing or not to accept, to provide the means to monitor and support the reports and the moderator. You can’t just say “it doesn’t work out well”, you have to be able to clarify in what sense and why. And finally there must be a cure.
I remember a young girl who was experiencing identity theft on Facebook. It quickly becomes hell, from the difficulty of communicating with people, explaining that we have all the elements to prove that it is a crime… We need a place to file a complaint, to explain our problem, that someone tells us: “we are watching, can we do something about it or not”… It will be an investment by the platforms, and if they want to show that they are really concerned, it will already be a big step forward. . I can’t bring myself to tell myself that we have to give in to what is. We are all concerned, without anyone having a key. We should stop thinking that people in RS are cretins. no, they are a reflection of our society. There are brilliant people and others less so.
Learn the rules of the game from school
“We need to teach from school how to verify sources, manage data, share data and how to protect it. For example, instead of banning the use of Wikipedia in elementary school, when all students use it, it would be more interesting to authorize it, but learning how to use it, explaining how it works, how to check sources. It’s possible even without being a social media expert. We also talk a lot about the challenges of artificial intelligence and generative imaging, but you should know that when a technology comes out, usually the anti-technology comes out fast. Therefore, we could very well imagine that over time collective intelligence could achieve this, in the sense that Internet users, with existing tools and counter-technologies, would be able to validate real images and determine whether it is a magnified image, even if it can to be meaningful. Collective intelligence is a more developed critical spirit than today.
Believe in the power of collective intelligence
“Artificial intelligence is about knowledge and the concentration of knowledge. But knowledge will never trump experience. So the challenge is how to ask the right questions, how to use the data that we will make available through this artificial intelligence, in short, how to ensure that we are as experienced as possible. Collective intelligence should be given means to settle the issues. If we want to denounce someone who has harassed us, or if we see an absolutely disgusting or completely false post, we can only report it. However, we should be able to argue and say “I’m reporting this because I think the content is false” or “I’m reporting this because the comments are offensive” and… We should also be able to follow through knowing the consequences of our reporting. , what it becomes and whether the person is suspended or not. For example, people on Twitch will be notified, their account will be suspended for a period of time without even being notified. This is also how we find the unclear rules related to artificial intelligence… And when the account is unlocked, we must also say why.
(1) Véronique Reil-Soult, a teacher at the Celsa-Sorbonne and a lecturer at Sciences Po Paris, is a regular columnist in the media and weekly for France Info, France 24 and Le Figaro.
(2) Editions du Cerf, 216 p, €20.
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Source: Le Figaro
