Using social media to connect and have conversations in red states

Pratap shared a story of a conversation with military figures involved in interrogation programs that he was reporting on. Even though it was in some ways an adversarial relationship, they found common ground in the fact that they had all been on the ground in the Middle East. Their concern was mostly that the reporting was accurate.

We discussed how all major social media networks are used across the country, although usage to some extent varies by network by race, socioeconomic status, age, geography, etc.

Like in Pratap's story, how can we find common points of ground on which to start conversations?

Could Facebook facilitate groups explicitly designed for people interested in "crossing the aisle" for discussion? Moderation would be key.

Thunderclap -- concentrate attention on specific topics / hashtags at a single moment to take advantage of "trending topics".

The fake news phenomenon, and how it connects with the death of journalism. Ad support for newspapers is dead. Only thing keeping them on life support is people's desire to know the truth. Not sustainable. (Digression into the history of British newspapers.)

Zak - there is an opportunity for federated social media technology to promote experimentation and innovation outside of the major networks.

"Weaponize Snopes"