October’s Social Media Roundup
October social media news
With the nights turning dark sooner, and the weather taking a turn for the worst, we’re all spending more time indoors. Inevitably, that means more time spent online. With screentime sneaking up, it’s a good time to reflect on what’s happened on social media over the last month. October’s social news is largely intertwined with politics, read on to find out more.
Facebook, and in particular, Mark Zuckerberg have been in hot water this month. In late September, the social network giant claimed it would not subject political candidates to fact checks. Zuckerberg stated that all posts by politicians are “newsworthy content” that should “be seen and heard”. However, congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and many other politicians were concerned that this would lead to deliberately misleading political adverts.
The previous American election caused controversy owing to propaganda-style false adverts painting Hillary Clinton in a negative light. This raised questions as to how Facebook would ensure fake news wouldn’t populate the channel this time around. Unfortunately, we now know that they won’t. It’s up to the individual to be able to tell truth from lies. Is this something a social network should allow? Well, that’s now the debate. Stay tuned to see how it plays out.
In light of the conversation surrounding political fact-checking on the channel, hundreds of Facebook employees have signed a letter to executive Mark Zuckerberg decrying his decision to allow politicians to post advertisements on the platform that include false claims.
In the last week of October, Twitter announced that it would be banning all political adverts. This made waves in the social media world, particularly as it contrasts so much with Facebook’s now much-debated stance on political advertising. Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey announced the move on his Twitter profile ahead of the US 2020 election.
“A political message earns reach when people decide to follow an account or retweet. Paying for reach removes that decision, forcing highly optimized and targeted political messages on people. We believe this decision should not be compromised by money.”
The B2B network is currently experiencing ‘record levels’ on engagement on the platform. That means it’s the perfect time to utilise the channel for marketing your business if you’re not already. It recently announced that they have reached a new high of 660 million members worldwide.
One feature that LinkedIn rolled out in October was the ‘Find an Expert’ feature. You can ask your network a question, and request answers from professionals in the relevant industry. This is particularly useful for those wanting genuine recommendations, but not knowing who to turn to for the answer.
After trialling the removal of likes earlier this year, Facebook are now removing another feature. This is part of their attempt to clean up the app and make it a healthier place for mental wellbeing. This time, the feature getting the cut is the ‘Following’ tab. Famously used for stalking what photos or accounts others have been liking, commenting or following, Instagram is now only allowing users to see their own activity, rather than others.
While removing some features, Instagram has added one too. ‘On This Day’ is a ‘Throwback Thursday’ feature that allows users to see what they were posting a year ago to the date. Tap the dice button to view a different On This Day post, find one you like the most, then share it to your Stories for people to tap through and view.
As always, there’ll be plenty happening on social as we type. So make sure you check in next month to see what’s been happening on social media in November too!
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