Social media's future lies in pursuit of facts

A recent article titled "Pursuit of hundreds of thousands of views would do harm to journalism, the internet and the young generation" said the pursuit of views, without checking for facts, to catch more eyeballs is a main reason for social media's commercial success. But another article said it is unfair to blame social media for the disconnect between opinions and facts.

Both the traditional media and social media strive to seek as many readers as possible to widen their influence. Irrespective of their nature, however, media outlets should improve their professionalism and always remain committed to fulfilling their social responsibilities. Some social media platforms tend to ignore or overlook facts, and blindly flash news that they cannot prove true, but so do the traditional media when they publish advertisements making false claims.

Social media platforms provide ordinary people with channels to air their views and participate in discussions on important issues, which contribute to the efforts to promote social development. As such, the internet is not to blame for the demerits of social media.