The Daily Mirror - Social Media

• People under 25 have been switching allegiance away from mainstream news brands towards visual networks like Instagram and TikTok, where entertainment and influencers play a bigger role
• A significant proportion of younger people say they avoid news because it can be hard to follow, suggesting that the news media could do more to simplify language and explain complex stories
• There's been a decrease in the percentage of people in the UK who think the media is independent from undue political or government influence: this has been fuelled by reporting of COVID and the war in Ukraine
• Young people, particularly digital natives (27%), also at times avoid main stream news because they perceive it as biased or untrustworthy
• As under 35s grew up in the digital age and have been socialised by older generations to be critical of the information they consume, our research suggests they take a particularly sceptical approach to all information and often question the 'agenda' of purveyors of news
• Mainstream news brands are not inherently more valued for impartiality by some young people, and their wariness of bias at times pushes them away from consuming news altogether
• There has been much controversy in mainstream media outlets about the way that social media has covered the Nicola Bulley story
• It is much harder to regulate the Internet and this can lead to many rumours and conspiracy theories being suggested and shared online
• This reinforces Clay Shirkys end of audience theory that puts forward the idea that the internet and digital technologies have had a profound effect on the relations between media and individuals, and the idea that audiences are passive consumers of mass media content is no longer tenable, as the online age media consumers have now become producers who speak back to the media as well as creating and sharing content with one another
• Social media giants are coming under increasing pressure to stop the spread of conspiracy theories and misinformation that is being widely shared about the investigation into missing mother Nicola Bulley
• Platforms such as TikTok, YouTube and Facebook continue to host false claims, conspiracy theories and other highly speculative material about the case despite pleas from police and friends of Ms Bulley's to stop
• Both Labour and Conservative politicians have said it is causing serious harm and provides further evidence of the need for the Government to tackle the power of social media companies with its long-awaited Online Safety Bill
• The mystery, which has made headlines around the world, continues to draw the attention of amateur sleuths, particularly those seeking to promote their social media channels
• TikTok has removed two accounts linked to the "urban explorer Dan Duffy who has been sharing videos of his searches at the scene and outside properties
• After being confronted by a man, believed to be a local resident, on Wednesday night, Mr Duffy shared a screenshot falsely identifying him as "suspect number one"
• The I Newspaper has also found viral TikTok videos falsely claiming Ms Bulley has been found in a loft in Swansea and a sketch "drawn by a psychic" that claims to show a possible suspect
• In the past 24 hours, a man who commented on Ms Bulley's Facebook page has also been singled out and falsely linked to the case in TikTok videos viewed thousands of times
• A spokesperson for TikTok said the company does not tolerate "bullying or harassment" and that it will continue to remove content that violates its policies
• The company added that it has a "dedicated" response team whose role it is to work with law enforcement authorities on a case-by-case basis
• Facebook has also proven fertile ground for conspiracy theories to spread, with one post falsely claiming that police have made an arrest shared widely on the platform
• On YouTube, a group of American commentators have posted a video discussing who they think should be a "prime suspect" that has been viewed more than 200,000 times
• Labour's shadow Minister for Tech, Gambling, and the Digital Economy, Alex Davies-Jones, said social media platforms have huge power to spread and promote misinformation and conspiracy theories, with outlandish claims quickly going viral and being seen by millions of people in a way that would be impossible in the offline world, and that these can cause serious harms, as seen in the case of Nicola Bulley
• The Online Safety Bill was supposed to address this, yet it has been seriously delayed, and at the last minute the Government gutted and watered it down, so that it now won't do anything to tackle misinformation online
• Senior Tory MP John Penrose, who has tabled two amendments to the Bill to tackle the spread of misinformation online, said there is much to commend about the Online Safety Bill but when it comes to tackling misinformation and disinformation online he doesn't think it does nearly enough
• Barrister Chris Daw KC said he believes the Government's efforts to tackle online misinformation via legislation won't work, as the Government doesn't have the ability to control social media companies
• If somebody is acting in a way that is interfering with a police investigation then that could be a criminal offence, perverting the course of justice, and senior police chiefs need to look at if there's a way to make an example of some of these individuals
• On Wednesday night, Lancashire Police was forced to issue dispersal orders due to reports of anti-social behaviour at the site of Ms Bulley's disappearance
• The chairman of the parish council Giles Phillips told i there have been several reports of residents being harassed and abused, and that the village, which has a population of around 700 people, "doesn't have the resources for the number of people tipping up"
• Emma White, a friend of Ms Bulley's, told the BBC's Today programme on Friday that the amateur sleuths were "not helping the situation" and that they need to leave it to the police
• Lancashire Police have warned they will take a "hard line" on anyone taking the law into their own hands and causing distress to family or witnesses