Algorithms and the News: Social Media Platforms as News Publishers and Distributors

Abstract

With billons of users, social media platforms (e.g. Facebook) are dominant players in a highly-concentrated online news market. They have great power over the distribution of information to their users, and over the organizations and individuals that produce it. Social media platforms use algorithms to perform functions traditionally belonging to news editors: deciding on the importance of news items and how they are disseminated. However, they do not acknowledge the role they play in informing the public as traditional news media always have and tend to ignore that they also act as publishers of news and the responsibilities associated with that role. This paper argues that it is essential for social media platforms to understand and embrace their role as both news publishers and distributors and highlights the essential responsibilities they must undertake so they can satisfy the information needs of their audiences and protect the public’s right to information.