06/26/2019 Americans Say Next Recession Already Begun and How Social Media Influences & Manipulates Political Opinions

40% of Americans say recession has already begun

Yahoo Finance

All things considered, the U.S. economy is doing pretty well. Unemployment is at a 50-year low, and the GDP’s 2.9 percent growth in 2018 was its best annual performance since the last recession. But the strong economy isn't enough for some 40% of Americans who believe the next recession is already here. Yahoo Finance's Sibile Marcellus, Dan Roberts, Melody Hahm, and Myles Udland discuss the latest study from Bankrate on Americans' financial preparedness in the event of a recession.

From Kevin Wolter-Host of True Wealth

Facebook & Especially Google have been engaged in an active campaign to influence election outcomes and censoring opinions that do not conform to their own. As seen on Tucker Carlson, FOX News on 06/25/2019, Google insider claims google can affect 15 Million votes nationally. With 119 Million voters in the 2016 Presidential Campaign, 15 Million votes would would sway the election outcome by 8%, far more than enough to change the election outcome. All things considered, the American Citizenry must have really wanted Trump as their president. There is no doubt that Facebook and Google have committed to eliminating Trump in the 2020 elections and both organizations have been forthright in admitting their strong left wing bias-claiming, of course-this has no influence on their personal censorship bias. Bias is bias. This is a tremendous threat to our future electoral system and the potential election of extreme socialists leading to the ultimate demise of the greatest nation in world history.

From Sysymos

Rumors, Fake News and Conspiracies

Political campaigns are now influenced by every story, whether true or not, that gets spread around social media. It’s getting more and more difficult to separate actual news from fake news online. Social media makes this distinction especially confusing. The constant stream of memes, links and rumors about political leaders and candidates is a mixture of truth, lies, satire and speculation.

There are now quite a few fake or satirical “news” sites that often post stories that sound authentic. The Onion is the best known of these, but there are now many others as well. Some fake news sites are not even amusing but simply exist to post clickbait stories or to troll readers who don’t do their own research.

There are also sites with political biases or those peddling various unsubstantiated conspiracy theories. It’s easy to be influenced by misinformation posted by your friends and followers, even if they don’t intend to mislead you. It’s therefore necessary to use a great deal of discernment before believing anything.

The Power of Confirmation Bias

One of the hidden forces that operates on social media is confirmation bias. This is especially powerful when it comes to controversial topics, including politics. If you’re like most people, the majority of your friends and followers on social media probably share your outlook. This means that the vast majority of tweets, Facebook posts, pins or other content you read on these sites tend to express the same point of view, one that you already hold.

It’s natural for people to surround themselves with others of like mind. This is true both online and offline. On social media sites, this can create the illusion that “everybody” thinks the same way. If you have a few hundred friends on Facebook, for example, and 90 percent of them agree on most political issues, the information you get will be filtered through this bias. People will post links to stories that confirm your existing bias. They’ll repeat opinions you already hold.

For this reason, social media may reinforce our opinions and make it more difficult to entertain alternative points of view. In politics, it can help to make people more opinionated and less tolerant of others. On the other hand, if you make an effort to connect with an assortment of people with diverse viewpoints, you can overcome confirmation bias and use social media to make you more open-minded.

Social Media and the Future of Politics

Because social media is relatively new, we’re just starting to see its impact on society. There are sure to be many political changes that come about due to social media. There are now proposals for internet voting, which could lead to more people participating in elections. This could make social media even more influential, as people could literally vote moments after reading the latest comments or links they found on Facebook or Twitter.

Other advancements will also change politics. Polling techniques on social media will become more common and, hopefully, more accurate. More virtual political rallies and town halls will take place. As social media becomes ever more popular, its impact on politics will only increase over time. It will be interesting to observe how this plays out.