Katherine Bloom: Would George Washington Tweet?

By Katherine Bloom

On October 4th, Facebook and its corresponding “family of apps” became unavailable for hours throughout the day, resulting in billions of people worldwide left without a vital communication network. The next day Facebook was hit with another blow when former employee Frances Haugen testified before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation expressing the many harms that have purposefully come from social media companies targeting children, teens and adults.

Social media has taken center stage in political discourse as seen through recent U.S. Supreme Court cases such as Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., involving the ability of schools to regulate student speech made off-campus. There is no doubt that social media is starting to become intertwined with American government which begs the question of what role does American government have with social media?

Our country’s framers – including George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison – voiced fears over the power of institutions that could not only polarize the public but also turn us away from democracy. Today, social media has done just that, something our framers would be ashamed of.

Social media sites, like Facebook, have paved the way toward polarization. Outlined in Federalist No. 55, the point of establishing a republic instead of a direct democracy in America was to avoid quick deliberation that resulted in decisions being made without reason. James Madison argued that in direct democracies, “passion never fails to wrest the sceptre from reason. Had every Athenian citizen been a Socrates, every Athenian assembly would still have been a mob.” To protect the Union from these faults, a republic is needed due to its special safeguards that prevent rapid changes stemming from responses to passions and impulses of the common people.

Social media aids direct democracy by allowing politicians to cement their ideals before even having the chance to hear opposing viewpoints from constituents. Polarization has since increased with a heavier reliance on social media throughout the public with algorithms that aid to the viewer furthering their biases towards their political counter.

George Washington warned in his Farewell Address, after serving his second term as president, against elements that would provoke political factions. He expressed that these factions should be avoided at all costs, stating, “It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection.” Social media have provoked Washington’s fears, causing it “to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration” he worried about in his Farewell Address. This has resulted in the weakening of the republic and the common good of the people.

In her testimony discussing Facebook’s internal mechanisms, Frances Haugen stated, “The result has been more division, more harm, more lies, more threats and more combat. In some cases, this dangerous online talk has led to actual violence that harms and even kills people.” Facebook and other social media sites have led to the spreading of extremist messages, resulting in said divisions which Americans saw unfold with the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.

Constitutionalists may argue that the framers would promote social media’s ability to push our First Amendment right of free speech to the forefront of society. While the framers did see the importance of maintaining free speech, by leaving the First Amendment opaque they showed the important distinction between maintaining free speech and allowing room to monitor harmful speech that takes away from the common good as it occurred.

The ability to monitor harmful speech allows political unrest and polarization to be avoided, as outlined through the Federalist Papers. In Federalist No. 10, James Madison states that the Union is seen as a safeguard against domestic factions and insurrections, thereby controlling violence and damages caused.

The political philosophies of the framers show that social media tarnishes the very goals they had for America and rather brings to light their worst fears. James Madison talked about the political truths in the Bill of Rights as national sentiments that would “counteract the impulses of interest and passion.” Today America has become overwhelmed with passion, resulting in an increase in virtual mobs based in hyperpartisanship. If we want the constitutional principles of American democracy to prevail as the framers wished, then it is time to rethink the role of social media.

Katherine Bloom is from Pullman, Washington, where she graduated from Pullman High School. She is currently a senior at Westminster College in Fulton, Mo., double majoring in psychology and political science with a pre-law focus.