The new owner of the Los Angeles Times, billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, said Wednesday that the spread of fake news on social media is the “cancer of our time.”
“The short attention span we’re creating in this millennium is actually very dangerous,” said Soon-Shiong “It’s the unintended consequences of social media.”
Soon-Shiong made his remarks during an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Alley.”
He went on to say that fake news is the “cancer of our time and social media is a form of metastasis of news. We need to change that.”
Social media has become the main source of news for many Americans and has become one of the leading sources for fake news. Facebook, Twitter, and Google have been working to address the spread of fake news on their platforms with limited success.
Soon-Shiong also serves as the chairman and CEO of biotech firm NantKwest bought the Times in June for $500 million joining a growing list of billionaires who have purchased financially newspapers or magazines in the last several years.
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