Social media is increasingly being used to spread misinformation, Ryder said. Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that it isn’t his company’s place to decide what’s true, and that their role is only to provide an unfettered venue for the free exchange of ideas, but also, social media platforms aren’t just allowing people to post their ideas online without interference. Their newsfeeds and search algorithms determine what users see and they want us to keep reading, watching or scrolling so they can collect our data and use it to sell advertising, Ryder said. As a consequence, they often show people content that arouses emotion, whether or not it’s true. It is the social media platforms that recommend this content, and research suggests these algorithms have pulled people down these rabbit holes that lead to false information, conspiracy theories and hatred, he said.