Twitter, once a platform for sharing news and information, is now a wasteland of conspiracy theories and distasteful celebrity tweets. One of the most significant examples of the latter is when former president Donald Trump tweeted about the 2020 election being stolen after Biden’s win was confirmed. Trump claimed that it was ‘statistically impossible’ for the vote to have gone to Biden and at the end of the tweet said “Big protest in D.C. January 6th Be there, it will be wild!.”

I imagine we all know what happened in the following hours after the tweet was sent. This is a prime example of how much power and influence people -especially celebrities- have over those who choose to believe them. Now, with the 2024 election approaching, Twitter and social media are more of a concern for candidates. Just the fact that no matter what outrageous claim someone were to state as truth, there is a group of people that will believe it. Georgia state representative Marjorie Taylor Green is a known conspiracy theorist and looking at her Twitter posts, this is easy to tell. Claims she has made such as “Monkeypox is a hoax” take a minimal effort Google search to disprove.

Having said this, hopefully, it is clear to see why this is a problem, especially with elections coming up. Social media has made it easier than ever to spread misinformation to millions of people. This will influence the opinions of those who will vote. Will they be backing a person? Or what do they stand for? The fear they inflict, or basic facts- it becomes difficult to distinguish between the two online. So, if you are old enough to vote, it is your responsibility to make sure you know who and what you are voting for. Considering bias and credibility is vital when consuming information, so ask if it makes sense and if the source is trustworthy. It’s very easy to do and it goes a long way. 

The 2024 elections’ fate relies more on money and power rather than facts and topic issues. Unfortunately, we have dug our own grave on this matter, and now we have to hope that we don’t have to lay in it.