The past decade has seen political polarisation – accelerated by social media’s filter bubbles and echo chambers – deepen and mutate. An ominous era of a polycrisis has shattered any remaining societal consensus. Meanwhile, powerful anti-establishment voices have stepped into the void.

Twitter and Facebook have ramped up efforts to stem misinformation in the lead-up to the US election, adding restrictions to a New York Post story. The move, one of the strongest against a major news publication, treads the fine line between taking responsibility and allowing free speech.

With its focus on authenticity and humour, TikTok isn’t the most conducive channel for branded content. However, ultra-low-cost carrier Ryanair is embracing the creativity of the social media platform through its witty videos, which have been extremely well received by the public.

OpenAI's natural language generator, GPT-3, has raised anxieties with its ability to produce convincing, coherent text. A study conducted by Georgetown University used GPT-3 to generate misinformation, finding that the algorithm's writing could sway readers' opinions around political issues.

Whether to stay connected, informed, or distracted, social media plays multiple roles in people’s day-to-day lives – and it’s proving especially useful during the COVID-19 crisis. Canvas8 polled 1,000 Americans and spoke to nine people to find out what they want from these platforms and why.