A little over a month ago, the NYtimes reported on their technology blog about how Eric E. Schmidt, Google's chief executive, speaking at the Zeitgeist conference, responded to a reporters query about the web and politics by saying that the web has led to political polarization, and that also it has allowed more of an imbalance in who gets their viewpoint out to the masses. He supported his assertion by using the example of the Florida minister who threatened to burn the Koran on 9/11 this year.
This is interesting, as it would seem Mr. Schmidt's comments only re-enforce the idea that if the public is to become the press more and more often, then there will need to be added pressure to correct the, as he sees it, "imbalance", in monitoring and checking the information that is disseminated by any group engaging in political/social commentary or opinion on the web. Are we, however, prepared to make strides to educate people on such issues of the web? Also, would a "free" internet , an internet with no charge and completely open to everyone, be a step in the right direction to correcting such imbalances?
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