# data[].attributes.body
Works Cited

Ryan, Tracy, and John D. McKinnon. "Lawmakers Hammer Tech CEOs for Online Disinformation, Lack of Accountability; Momentum Builds for Changes to Section 230, the Liability Shield for Social Media and Online Platforms." Wall Street Journal (Online), Mar 25, 2021. ProQuest, https://login.lscsproxy.lonestar.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/lawmakers-hammer-tech-ceos-online-disinformation/docview/2504695861/se-2?accountid=7054.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Research Essay English 1301 14wk  Spring 2022

# data[].attributes.body
Works Cited

Ryan, Mac, and Cecilia Kang. "Facebook Accused of Putting Profits First: [Business/Financial Desk]." New York Times, Oct 04, 2021. ProQuest, https://login.lscsproxy.lonestar.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/facebook-accused-putting-profits-first/docview/2578675550/se-2?accountid=7054.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Article 3 Facebook Accused Of Putting Profits First

# data[].attributes.body
Social media companies should be held accountable for the misinformation spread on their platforms, the algorithms on their platforms cannot recognize truth over lies, and many of these platforms are operating a business model of misinformation for profit.

# data[].attributes.body
Works Cited

Edgerton, Anna, and Ilya Banares. "BUSINESS; Social Media Algorithms Get Senate Scrutiny." Los Angeles Times, Apr 28, 2021. ProQuest, https://login.lscsproxy.lonestar.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/business-social-media-algorithms-get-senate/docview/2518889878/se-2?accountid=7054.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Article 2 Social media algorithms get Senate scrutiny

# data[].attributes.body
Works Cited

Carey, Benedict. "How Fiction Becomes Fact on Social Media: [Science Desk]." New York Times, Oct 24, 2017. ProQuest, https://login.lscsproxy.lonestar.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/how-fiction-becomes-fact-on-social-media/docview/1954151469/se-2?accountid=7054.

# data[].attributes.body
a. Give your proposed solution: Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act needs to be amended and the algorithms on these platforms need to be modified and changed.
b. Restate Thesis:

# data[].attributes.body
a. Transitional Topic Sentence: Social media platforms are protected by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects their companies from having any liability over what users post and spread over their platforms.
b. Claim: Social media platforms operate on a corrupt business model of getting paid on engagement, views, and how much a topic, post, or video may be trending. Naturally, this would lead some to believe that the reason they are not actively trying to make a real change in the algorithms is that it does not financially benefit them to do so.
c. Evidence (Quote): Ms. Frances Haugen, a Facebook product manager who left the company in May 2021 has shared internal documents with journalists and others. "Ms. Haugen has used the documents she amassed to expose how much Facebook knew about the harms that it was causing and provided the evidence to lawmakers, regulators, and the news media."
"Facebook over and over again, has shown it chooses profit over safety."
"accusing, Facebook of misleading investors with public statements that did not match its internal actions."
"In mid-2020, employees who disagreed with Facebooks's decision to leave up a controversial post from President Donald J. Trump staged a virtual walkout and sent more internal information to news outlets."
"In reality, Facebook knew its algorithms and platforms promoted this type of harmful content and it failed to deploy internally commended or lasting countermeasures."
"..material  misrepresentations and omissions in statements to investors and prospective investors."

d. Explanation: Large numbers of employees at various social media platforms have come forward to blow the whistle on how these platforms are operating with a clear knowledge of the root of the problem. These companies are actively choosing to keep misinformation on their platforms because it benefits them financially and they are misleading and lying to investors and shareholders rather than taking accountability.

# data[].attributes.headline
Algorithms that are biased towards misinformaiton

# data[].attributes.subject
Algorithms that are biased towards misinformaiton

# data[].attributes.body
a. Transitional Topic Sentence: Misinformation spreads quickly on social media platforms because of the algorithms they operate on.
b. Claim: The algorithms on these platforms are meant to draw the user to spend more time on their platforms. Videos on YouTube can be concerning when they are false, harmful or conspiracies because YouTube has an "UpNext" feature that automatically plays related videos when the video being viewed by a user is almost over. This opens the door for people to be taken advantage of by ill-intended people or groups that are seeking to spread false information in an efficient way by taking advantage of the algorithms on these platforms.
c. Evidence (Quote): "In October 2018, a gunman killed eleven worshipers at a synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, constituting one of the deadliest attacks on Jews in U.S. History. The gunman had been promoting anti-Semitic conspiracy theories on social media..."
"Harris, a former design ethicist at Google, said 'their business model is to create a society that is addicted, outraged, polarized, performative and disinformed.."
d. Explanation: Social media platforms are aware that misinformation is spreading on their platforms and are not implementing many guidelines to correct this.

# data[].attributes.headline
Misinformation is spreading fast and society is believing false information

# data[].attributes.subject
Misinformation is spreading fast and society is believing false information

# data[].attributes.body
a. Transitional Topic Sentence: Society has transformed substantially in the past ten years in regards to communication and online presence.
b. Claim: Misinformation is spreading faster than ever on social media platforms.  Many Americans use social media as a source of their news, which means anyone with access to a social media platform can spread misinformation. This is especially harmful in situations in which the manipulator with bad intent has a wide reach, large audience, or strong following because they are able to spread their misinformation quickly and efficiently.
c. Evidence (Quote): "About two-thirds of Americans get their news from social media, according to a 2018 survey by the Pew Research Center."
"A research group at Oxford University, and Graphica, a firm that conducts social network analyses, stated, 'to being a computational tool for social control manipulated by canny political consultants, and available to politicians in democracies and dictatorships alike."
d. Explanation: Social media platforms have become a means of spreading false information and this will be very damaging to our society if something is not done.

# data[].attributes.body
Social media companies should be held accountable for the false information spread on their platforms.

# data[].attributes.body
“Social Media and Free Speech.” Issues & Controversies, Infobase,
06 October 2021, http://icof.infobaselearning.com/recordurl.aspx?ID=19418.
Accessed 3 Nov. 2021.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Social Media and Free Speech Primary Article Oct. 2021

# data[].attributes.body
Should social media companies be held accountable for the spread of false information on their platforms

# data[].attributes.body
a. Hook
Social media platforms are taking advantage of our society.
b. General Statement
These platforms are currently under the protection of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, leaving them completely free of liability for any information posted on their platforms
c. Transition Statement
In our society, most adults are on social media platforms and it is the source for some users' news. With misinformation being easily posted by anyone who has access to the internet our society can crumble and divide.
d. Thesis Statement
Social media companies should be held accountable for the misinformation spread on their platforms, the algorithms on their platforms cannot recognize truth over lies, and many of these platforms are operating on a business model of misinformation for profit.