It is argued that social media websites can disturb the social fabric as they can act as a source of wrong information. This essay agrees that social media websites can be used as a tool to spread misinformation that is hard to verify. Firstly, research has proven that social media has been used as a source of spreading false information. Secondly, it is difficult to track the perpetrators, and this impunity further increases the tendency to spread fake news.
As per the research, carried out by the USC Marshall School of Business and the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, only 15%, of those who share news on social media, are responsible for spreading nearly 30% to 40% of the fake news and false information. The data proves that only a certain percentage of social media users tend to spread false news. Since the majority of the false information comes from a small percentage of users, there is a high chance of spreading wrong information by these users.
Moreover, with advancements in technology, it has become difficult to track the accurate source of false information. By the time its source can be tracked, the news would have already spread, as it tends to have a ripple effect once the sharing starts.
To conclude, although social media does have various advantages such as awareness generation, professional and personal networking, etc., it can act as a medium to spread false information. It is imperative to be aware and have critical thinking for discerning truth from falsehood.