The exponential growth of social media is one of the biggest contributors to journalism as we know it, but is one of the biggest threats. News outlets increasingly reference posts from Twitter and other platforms as a way to support their arguments. When brought into official media as if they are fact, many issues can arise. As professors Logan Molyneux and Shannon McGregor put it, “journalists rely on Twitter for information from newsmakers, and Twitter relies on journalists to lend legitimacy to itself as a platform.” Molyneux and McGregor identify this as a feedback loop. This loop consistently the reliability of journalism. Tweets are a great way to understand public opinion, but are too easily manipulated to be referenced as fact. In 2020, it is imperative that the balance of social media referenced in journalism is tipped back towards journalism relaying the reality of a situation, with social media used only to give insight into what outside opinions there may be.
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