Republic 2.0 Chapter 6 Blogs
In chapter 6, Sunstein dicusses the plusses and minuses of “the blogosphere”. While Sunstein concedes that we are better off with blogs than without, he spends the majority of the chapter refuting Posner and Hayeks’ claims that blogs are diverse and accurate compilations. Sunstein warns that blogs should be chosen and read with caution of what we believe from them.
Posnar uses Hayek’s opinions and data to claim that blogs are like products. Like a product, Posnar believes that if a blog is inaccurate or “defective” the demand for that log will go down. This reduction of demand would lead to a shorter supply or readership of bad or inaccurate blogs, and remove the problem of bad blogs. Because so many people access and read blogs every day, he says that there is a massive amount of proof readers, and mistakes or incorrect information is quickly corrected. Posnar claims that because many blogs have ads, this give them incentive to have accurate and useful information in order to encourage more readership which in turn creates more profit for the site.
Sunstein however criticizes Posnar’s claim of the high quality and accuracy of blogs. Many blogs do not have any advertisements included and therefore the writer has no incentive to equally represents two sides of a story or ensure that information is completely correct. Furthermore, Posnar incorrectly assumes that accuracy is the best way to increase readership for those sites with a fiscal incentive. Blogs can receive attention for being funny or outrageous and offering entertainment value. It is quite easy for bloggers to completely fabricate information just to draw attention. Additionally, blogs are good when looked at by open-minds, but can also serve as another medium to increase social polarization.
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