Billionaire LA Times : Social media 'cancer of our time'...
Billionaire LA Times owner calls 'fake news' and how it
spreads on social media the 'cancer of our time'
LA Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong advocates for a change
in how people consume news on social media.
Social platforms may have revolutionized how people get
information, but they've also been criticized for spreading fake news.
"The short attention span we're creating in this
millennium is actually very dangerous," he says.
Berkeley Lovelace Jr. September 26, 2018 CNBC.com
Billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong on Wednesday advocated
for a change in how people consume news on social media, calling misinformation
and how it's spread the "cancer of our time."
"The short attention span we're creating in this
millennium is actually very dangerous," said Soon-Shiong, the new owner of
the Los Angeles Times. "It's the unintended consequences of social
media."
Soon-Shiong, also chairman and CEO of biotech firm
NantKwest, was responding to a question about the state of media and its
relationship to social networks.
Platforms such as Facebook's News Feed have
revolutionized how people consume media and how news organizations deliver
content. But they have also been criticized for spreading so-called fake news
and misinformation.
Soon-Shiong, a former surgeon, told "Squawk
Alley" that fake news is the "cancer of our time and social media is
a form of metastasis of news. We need to change that."
He said people cannot differentiate from "fake
news," "real news" or "opinion news" on Facebook.
Soon-Shiong took control of the LA Times for $500 million
in June. He joins the ranks of billionaires Marc Benioff and Jeff Bezos, who
have also purchased media companies.
Benioff just bought Time magazine for $190 million in
cash from Meredith Corp. Bezos owns The Washington Post.
Comments
Post a Comment