Author: Raghav Kumar Jha
Publication Year: 2022
Keywords: Facebook and WhatsApp,Credibility of social media information flow and its effects,
Abstract: Social Media as we see today, is a unique gift of aspirational mankind's technological innovations, for which human race has been striving hard since the inception of the civilization. The information flow on social media has a number of contours, but the most striking is the actualization of the age-old Indian philosophy of universal oneness "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam". Today the world has literally turned into a global village, where you are aware of each development and are well acquainted with the activities of the people residing in any corner of the globe. You can communicate with them, share a photograph, a video or your feelings with them, chalk out plans for future, launch a movement and get their instant feedback. Social Media has literally transformed the world of communication.
The biggest advantage of social media is that it has a wide reach globally and through social platforms information can be spread to millions of people in almost real time. However, the fast speed and wide reach, that is considered a boon for the society, may prove to be a bane if this media is used carelessly or with mal-intentions.
In the past few years, fake news shared via WhatsApp led to several incidents of violence and killings in different parts of the country. These unfortunate incidents caused by the viral messages on social platforms have put a question mark on the credibility of information flow on social media.
Social media has also a profound impact on the newsroom operations. It is increasingly being used as sources in mainstream news coverage. However, the huge amount of content posted in conjunction with such events serves as a challenge to finding trustworthy sources in the din of stream. The risk of running into misinformation is high. That's why assessing the credibility of both the sources of information and the information itself has become a fundamental issue today.
Against this backdrop a research study on the credibility of social media information flow and its effects becomes the need of the hour. Present research study is a serious effort in that direction.
Facebook and WhatsApp are the two most popular social platforms which play a key role in this information flow. That's why the research study in question has been
based on the critical role played by Facebook and WhatsApp in the flow of information.
A large number of available literature has been reviewed to have a good understanding of the body of academic work that has already been done in relation to this research topic.
The measurement of objectives, primary and secondary data collection, a sample survey involving two hundred and fifteen respondents of various demographics, interviews of five leading editors of TV News channels and Newspapers/magazines and three prominent media educators, coupled with content analysis have been used as the research methodology to reach to a logical conclusion.
Guide: Neeraj Karan Singh
University: Swami Vivekanand Subharti University
Shodh Ganga Link: View Thesis
Category: Social Media
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