WE hear the phrase “dark day for democracy” bandied about a lot.
But it properly hit home on Thursday when Facebook announced it was banning Australian news from its platform.
The social media giant’s response to Australia’s proposed media bargaining code wasn’t entirely unexpected – Facebook had threatened to cut news for months – but the drastic overnight takedown still took many by surprise.
It seemed so immediate – before our eyes, the pages of news organisations disappeared, as did those of health departments, the Bureau of Meteorology and even satire sites.
Some of those blacked-out pages have been restored, but others remain as ghost pages, with all their posts removed, in a bizarre dystopia where The Chaser emerged as a leading national news source.
Miraculously, the Sunraysia Daily page survived – but as it stood on Friday afternoon, it was no longer able to share links to stories.
At a time when misinformation is rife, this is the worst course of action Facebook could have taken.
A strong democracy, like the one we’re proud to have in Australia, relies on informed voters.
And in this day and age, many people – more than half the population – rely on social media sites like Facebook to stay informed.
If the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise and fall of the Trump presidency have taught us anything, it is how willing so many people are to believe and spread misinformation. Misinformation itself is almost a pandemic.
And one of the world’s largest social media platforms banning people seeing information that is researched and vetted by professionals will only exacerbate the problem.
It leaves the platform wide open to the threat of fake news, misinformation and chaos. Facebook is set to become the Wild West of social media, where misleading content, falsehoods and conspiracy theories now have free rein.
As part of Thursday morning’s blackout, Facebook didn’t just take down the pages of newspapers, radio stations and media corporations.
It took down the pages of police forces, government departments, outreach services and hospitals – the sources of vital information and support in the middle of a global pandemic.
Facebook has shut down access to news just as Australia is on the cusp of delivering COVID-19 vaccines to the population and at a time when anti-vaxxer and anti-government sentiment is at a terrifying peak.
It’s taken away a vital channel for media, governments and health services to communicate vital information to the masses.
All of us who regularly scroll through our Facebook feed while having a cuppa should be worried about this.
Because, after what happened on Thursday, it’s not a real news feed any more.
