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Social media can support or undermine democracy – it comes down to how it’s designed

  • Written by Lisa Schirch, Professor of the Practice of Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame
Social media can support or undermine democracy – it comes down to how it’s designedA protester calls out Facebook for facilitating the spread of disinformation. AP Photo/Jeff Chiu

Every design choice that social media platforms make nudges users toward certain actions, values and emotional states.

It is a design choice to offer a news feed that combines verified news sources with conspiracy blogs – interspersed with photos...

Read more: Social media can support or undermine democracy – it comes down to how it’s designed

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