Social cloisters and fake news a challenge to politicians and marketers

WITH global Internet penetration crossing 50 per cent in 2016, more than half the world is connected through cyberspace. From one perspective, this connectivity is an unprecedented leveller, breaking down barriers, freeing up information, and exposing everyone to more opinions and viewpoints on local and global issues.

Yet, this great connector has also become a great divider, enabling those who are connected to coalesce into "social cloisters" - groups that are relatively small, insulated and share similar opinions and views.

Fuelled by the phenomenal growth of social media platforms such as Facebook, the ether has become home to hundreds of millions of these cloisters.

People are increasingly spending time within their cloisters, sharing their day-to-day experiences, their thoughts and their feelings, and by doing so, influencing and reinforcing…