Marketplace of Ideas within Social Media

 

The value Marketplace Of Ideas proposed the argument that ideas of truth and quality will, without a doubt, rise over ideas of falsehood.

English poet and philosopher John Milton, born December 9, 1608

This value was created by John Milton for the purpose of arguing against publication licensing in 1644, England. This argument against the Parliament, as well as others, were written in John Milton's Areopagitica. 

John Milton's Areopagitica

The Areopagitica suggested that the acceptance of an idea or concept should be open to the people instead of needing the approval of the government and its churches. John Milton named that acceptance process the Marketplace Of Ideas.

I find this idea similar to the more recent idea of "The Court of Public Opinion" due to the judgement of a notion being in the hands of the public.

John Milton believed that the people would use critical thinking to overcome misinformation and bad ideas. He wanted people to question whether an idea was good or not and let them decide for themselves.

Unfortunately for John Milton, the English Parliament ended up rejecting his idea of free speech for the next 51 years. However, today his value of free expression became a foundation for new ideas and innovation for the U.S. 

John Milton's value of free expression is still relevant today, especially in social media. Across various platforms and apps, everyday people are posting their ideas, opinions, and creations. The only thing limiting what they post are the platforms themselves and not any direct government. 

Present day social media is putting John Milton's Marketplace of Ideas to the test due to the amount of misinformation that spreads across online platforms.

        

One of the biggest social media platforms today is TikTok. It allows anyone to post anything they want as long it isn't explicitly graphic or lewd.

TikTok also allows anyone to post political opinions and news. This can give a user many different perspectives on the same story or political figure.

        

According to John Milton, the best ideas and the most honest videos should dominate TikTok's feed. However, that isn't true. Video containing misinformation and false narratives are posted everyday and reach the same popularity as those that are honest and good.

That misinformation spreads and can cause serious issues, especially if its on more serious topics such as politics.

TikTok used to be a place of creativity and a pretty good news source, but now people use it just to grow their popularity by taking advantage of controversy and drama. TikTok has become a tournament to see who can fabricate the craziest opinion on a real world issue.

    

However, this negative aspect of social media isn't only on TikTok. People post misinformation and lies across all of the internet. What is worse is the intent behind their post. There are many that post with the sole intent of lying or hurting someone.

While I believe that John Milton's Marketplace of Ideas can hold true in todays world of social media. I also see an abundance of evidence that contradict his value of free expression. Wrong perspectives and false narratives spread like wildfire on social media, we can counter that with critical thinking and an open mind.