Can Social Media Be Saved?

Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover has reignited a debate about the dangers of social media. It may seem like all funny gifs and nephew photos, but these days, many sites are also full of dangerous lies that impact democracy, bullying that affects the mental health of our kids, human trafficking, and drug sales. Andy speaks with Stanford Law Professor Nate Persily and former Facebook employee Brandon Silverman about whether social media platforms should be policed, the consequences if they’re not, and healthier options if you’re sick of Facebook and Twitter.

Keep up with Andy on Twitter @ASlavitt.

Follow Nate Persily and Brandon Silverman on Twitter @persily and @brandonsilverm.

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Check out these resources from today’s episode: 

• Read about the Platform Accountability and Transparency Act (PATA), a bipartisan bill that would require social media companies to provide vetted, independent researchers and the public with access to certain platform data: https://law.stanford.edu/press/the-platform-transparency-and-accountability-act-new-legislation-addresses-platform-data-secrecy/
• Check out the social media platforms Brandon says he’s most excited about, Front Porch Forum and New Public: https://frontporchforum.com/ and https://newpublic.org/
• Find vaccines, masks, testing, treatments, and other resources in your community: https://www.covid.gov/
• Order Andy’s book, “Preventable: The Inside Story of How Leadership Failures, Politics, and Selfishness Doomed the U.S. Coronavirus Response”: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250770165 

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For additional resources, information, and a transcript of the episode, visit lemonadamedia.com/show/inthebubble.

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