Instead of reforming Facebook, should we just build something else?

Abstract

ABSTRACT Facebook and other social media platforms are not designed first and foremost to promote a well-functioning society. They’re designed to collect personal data and sell targeted ads. Many people have decried the disinformation, conspiracy theories, and hate speech that proliferate online, but Ethan Zuckerman, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, thinks that there’s a more productive way to improve social media than simply trying to make companies like Facebook better. Taking his inspiration from public broadcasters like the United Kingdom’s BBC, he advocates for creating perhaps hundreds of thousands of social platforms with a civic purpose rather than a profit motive.