1. Introduction

The advent of multidisciplinary research was inspired by the growing demand of social relations and computer-mediated communication since the mid 1980s. Social media has seen a massive rise in the late 2000s. More specifically, the previous decade has observed a significant evolution in its forms and usage [1]. The range of features that this technology offers attracts a wide range of consumers. According to [2], social media can be defined as being computer-mediated technologies developed by the expert of computer science that are interactive in nature and are able to facilitate the sharing or creation of information, career interests, and ideas in addition to other forms of expression through networks and communities that are virtual.

The present study aims to analyze the impact of social media on geopolitics and economic growth and how to mitigate the risks by developing artificial intelligence (AI) and cognitive computing tools. The topic is relevant as social media’s growth has a pivotal impact on the political and business environments at the micro and macro levels [2]. Due to its complexity and vast usage, there is no formula or specific technique on how to run social media accounts successfully. Thus, companies and other governmental agencies have adopted a personalized tactic for handling social media to obtain favourable results. According to [3], social media is used by businesses in the United Kingdom for the purpose of product promotion, driving sales, recruitment, brand awareness, forming networks, and customer service. This states that there is a vast range of operations for social media platforms. From a political perspective, the concept of “geopolitics” is relevant here. Geopolitics is equivalent to normal politics, yet defined by international boundaries and international relations influenced by geographical factors [4].

AI is the simulation of human intelligence, processed and exhibited by machines. The underlying idea is to enable computer systems to perform tasks in line with human intelligence, via a set of theories, methods, and algorithms, whereas cognitive computing is a subfield of AI and refers to computing that focuses on reasoning and understanding at a higher level. Computing is analogous to human cognition, rationale, and judgment. It has the capacity to deal with symbolic and conceptual information. It is receptive to different kinds of stimuli and is able to take accurate decisions in complex situations. AI and cognitive computing are key components of the popular social networks, which we use every single day. Facebook uses advanced machine learning (ML) to do everything to recognize photos to target users with advertising. Instagram uses AI to identify visuals. LinkedIn uses AI to offer job recommendations, suggest people you might like to connect with, and serve you specific posts in your feed. Snapchat leverages the power of computer vision, an AI technology, to track your features and overlay filters that move with your face in real time. And, across all social media platforms and each social media post, an AI algorithm or machine learning system is regulating how the content you create and the ads you buy are placed in front of users—often in ways that are not entirely transparent to marketers.

There are multiple types of social media platforms; the most prominent ones used are microblogging, product review system websites, social networking sites, and blogs [5]. Microblogging websites, such as Twitter, are meant for users to share their thoughts in a limited number of words. These websites are used by companies, government agencies, local shops, and so on for marketing, announcing, or just providing information for the users. A direct link is created between the two factions, which is a good opportunity for both parties to communicate their needs and issues [5]. Product review system websites are meant for consumers and companies to access to check the feedback of other users of certain products, whereas social networking sites are the key social media platforms, which are the most popular among users. The most prominent example of this type of social media platform is Facebook. Due to the vast number of users, companies and other agencies find it convenient to communicate via social media about new offerings. The last type is blogs, which are used by individuals mostly for multiple purposes, yet most prominently for giving out opinions about multiple topics such as fashion, politics, and so on [2].

Moreover, there are multiple uses of social media; however, it is used in specific ways by organizations. Some of these uses are communication, marketing, promotion, and research [6]. Communication has been made very easy by social media platforms, and thus, it is no surprise that users apply social media for effective communication. Direct connection is established between two parties, which is not possible with traditional forms of mass communication platforms such as TV advertising [6]. Marketing, which is a process of value creation for a product or service, is significantly pursued via social media nowadays. Here, branding is a well-known example, where businesses establish social media profiles and share relevant content to promote their brand. Market research, which is a component of a product/service’s marketing, is a key factor that social media is used. Social media has made it convenient for researchers to conduct market research as more trends can be identified, including the identification of consumer preferences and purchase intention [7].

The present study is essential for multiple reasons; firstly, politics and social media have a mixed relationship as the two entities often do not match the motives [8]. For example, the motive of politics to influence their opinions and slogans among the vast population may not be deemed ethical by the social media platforms as they may be responsible for propaganda or wrongful agendas. Furthermore, the issue of fake news is a huge area of concern from the political aspect as it may harm the campaign of politicians in the wrong way [9]. For example, fake news spread on social media regarding a price hike on a commodity may cause an outrage, which was not even caused by the governing entities. Therefore, politics and social media are a very delicate mix. The present study’s findings can enable academia and experts of different domains to have clearer answers towards the relationship between the geopolitics and social media for developing new theory and smart artificial intelligence (AI) and cognitive computing tools that will be used in social media similar to AI and cognitive computing tools that have been extensively used to leverage individual behaviours, preferences, beliefs, and interests to personalize experiences and to find where you have been, where you are going, what you have written in emails, what you have asked your voice assistants, what groups you belong to, what stores you shop at, and more.

Like businesses, politicians are now also bound to social media as it allows them to communicate with the subjects as they intend [10]. A lot of famous political personalities have made social media accounts to gain an advantage through good publicity [11]. Due to its complex nature, political organizations construct proper strategies to use social media to their advantage. However, things do not always work out according to the plans; for example, Facebook refused ads from multiple American presidential candidates in the 2016 election as the ads did not meet their community standards [12]. Therefore, it is required for political entities to be fairly responsible on social media since they are bound to influence a large number of people.

Previous research suggests that geopolitics contains the essential elements of international relations, which can be influenced by social media as the activities of a country’s political entity are public [13]. Inappropriate use of social media, such as careless exchange of content might hurt public sentiments or affect deals. It is observed that political personalities of different nations often exchange words on social media platforms, especially Twitter [14]. Wrongful or aggressive contact among different nations’ individuals can cause a spur of reaction among individuals, often leading to local news channels covering the spat and causing a negative environment. A recent example of the exchanges on Twitter between political heads of America and Iran has caused a wide range of spur leading to protests and outrage [15]. Therefore, it is understood that the link between geopolitics and social media could have very adverse consequences and should be dealt with utmost care.

Economic growth can be represented by many factors; most prominently, it is represented by the GDP growth or GDP per capita growth [16]. It is observed that economic growth is influenced by four main factors, which include human capital, physical capital, and availability and quantity of natural resources and technology. Human capital corresponds to the labour and the population of a country. An efficient workforce of the country can add value to economic growth; however, an unskilled or poorly developed workforce can cause damage to the growth and could potentially give rise to unemployment [17]. Physical capital refers to the infrastructure of the country as it helps develop the materials and other commodities for growth. The availability and quantity of natural resources available in a country can determine the level of dependency it will have on other nations. On the other hand, technology is a referral point for economic growth for a lot of countries as more advanced technologies enable the country to apply a better method for production and economic growth [16].

The present research is essential in regard to the topic of economic growth as social media falls under the technology category as an influencer of economic growth. Reference [18] states that, in general, there is a negative link between social media and economic growth. However, when control variables are introduced (such as marketing), social media can influence economic growth positively [19]. Economic growth can be influenced by social media, where factors such as promotion and fake news can intrigue buying behaviour, among other elements. A country’s fake news can lead to a lesser investment or tourism, leading to a hit to economic growth [19]. Therefore, the present study can enable practitioners and policymakers to achieve a deeper understanding of social media’s impact on economic growth and develop AI and cognitive computing tools that can help mitigate the risks of social media and keep smooth economic growth. It performs a systematic review to achieve the objectives and provides an overview or synthesis of the available evidence.

Geopolitics and economic growth elements can be interlinked in a lot of ways. Political setting can influence economic growth in a positive or negative way [20]. Healthy relations between the two countries can increase the level of trade, leading to higher economic growth [21]. Furthermore, certain indicators/factors such as interest rate, exchange rate, tariffs, and taxes can also be used to form a relationship between the two variables [22]. Moreover, geopolitics and economic growth can be affected by indicators such as ease of doing index. If the political determination of these factors is favourable, then it would be more likely that economic growth would be high due to added investment from other countries.

On the other hand, if geopolitical conditions are not favourable, then there would likely be discrepancies in the economy of the country [20]. The example of Afghanistan could be relevant here, which struggles from the poor geopolitical situation due to unfriendly relations with the neighbouring countries and poor local management [23]. Here, social media may play its role in influencing both the geopolitical outlook and economic growth of the country. In the following section of the study, the methodology applied to execute the study is presented.

As indicated earlier, the methodology used in this study is a qualitative systematic review, while AMSTAR and PRISMA tools are applied. AMSTAR is applied to identify the quality of the research by undertaking the questions generated by the tool, whereas the PRISMA tool is applied to narrow down the studies used in the research for review.

The rest of the study is systematically organized such that first the methods used are comprehensively discussed by defining key elements such as the research approach and design, literature search, study selection, quality assessment, and data extraction and analysis. Furthermore, the results are portrayed, and the discussion is presented based on those results. Finally, the conclusion is given based on the overall findings of the present study.

2. Materials and Methods

2.5. Data Extraction and Analysis

PRISMA approach was taken to ensure that the present study remains of high quality and credible [25]. PRISMA approach is applied as this method ensured that relevant material was selected for the present study. PRISMA tool helps the researcher remove inappropriate or irrelevant research in order to form a good collection of studies to conduct the review.

The journal articles that satisfy the predefined requirements of selection are then also analyzed based on certain factors such as the publishing year, methods and tools applied for finding and testing, and geographical location of publishing. A narrative research design is then applied to analyze the findings of the study, while a systematic qualitative review is done for the selected studies for drawing the evaluations.

The following chart (Figure 1) illustrates the PRISMA procedure as it is applied in the present study:

With the help of the PRISMA procedure, the studies are selected that are the most relevant to the topic, have addressed the research problem, are wholly accessible, and meet the quality criteria identified in Section 2.3. Therefore, 15 main journals are reviewed in the present study. The main reason for the less number of studies short-listed for the systematic review was the issue of relevance since the research was unable to find the positive and/or negative impacts of social media on geopolitics and economic growth in the majority of the studies initially selected for review.

3. Results

The rise of social media should intrigue businesses into adopting social media in their global political risk management strategies as stated by [26]. The study states that “just in time” or targeted political risk management is not as effective as a multihazard approach where political risks are evaluated for a broader margin related to social media. Furthermore, the study states that a good political risk management plan can enable the business to cope with a volatile business environment. Moreover, the study states that social media influences geopolitics through an increased amount of protests. Lastly, the study proposes that good political risk management involves three elements. Firstly, chain resiliency procedures and plans shall be provided by a business in case of current business interruption. Secondly, an entity should be able to communicate potential problems to customers, employees, and suppliers. Thirdly, an organization should review its credit control procedures and policies and credit risks and make necessary adjustments [26].

Reference [27] states that due to the interconnectedness of the social media platforms, an opportunity is created for the participatory economy. A participatory economy can induce economic growth as more people get involved in contributing to the growth due to new opportunities created by social media. The participation of individuals on social media benefits quite a few other individuals; this creates new and unexpected results [27]. Moreover, the impact of social media on economic growth depends on the type of information and perception that is prevalent about certain products or companies in the market, which will determine their future growth [27].

The emergence of businesses from social media can be beneficial on the economic grounds, while it also has an impact on social relations and the well-being of individuals in a particular area. Conversely, in the study of [18], it is identified that social media has a significant and negative impact on economic growth. The article states that one of the reasons why the relationship between the two elements is negative is because the productivity of the individuals can be affected poorly by social media. The study rejected its hypothesis, which suggested that social media had a positive impact on economic growth [18]. The study possessed some drawbacks, such as the measurement errors relating to the existing proxies of social media technology and users’ states. Further research suggestions included accessing whether the negative impact is due to greater consumption of nonmonetary content, decreased productivity, increased search costs, or a mix of the three factors.

Internet penetration and social media have positive impacts on economic growth. It contributes 3.2% of GDP in India and 4% of GDP in European countries. The reason behind this positive contribution is the social network is consumer-focused as well as a cost-effective marketing tool. So social media enables businesses to improve their product quality as well as product development planning [28]. It is also observed that social media don’t have any significant impact on the economic development of the poorest communities but have a positive impact on developed economies [29]. Moreover, [28] also observed a positive link between social media and economic activities.

According to [30], social media has made some key changes that affect the political environment. Firstly, the users can comment or influence others regarding a political issue by being anonymous. Furthermore, there is a diversity and richness of information available on social media that can be used for or against political entities. Another change is the speed of how fast the news spreads; this can be negative for geopolitics as governments like to cease some information for their own benefit [30]. Another change is moving the society on social media from objectivity to subjectivity; issues are addressed for a longer period of time on social media as compared to digital media due to its vast space and presence [30]. Another change that can influence geopolitics is the ability of social media to influence users based on the combination of videos/images and text, which can be edited by any individual. Furthermore, censorship cannot prevent the whole issue as it can be done in other forms of traditional media; some parts of the news or other censored item can be accessed by individuals through social media. In reference [30], the ability of politicians to influence users and do effective campaigning has been stressed. Furthermore, it has been identified that political opponents at the national and international levels can use social media to learn from each other much more easily and openly.

A study by Aouragh and Chakravartty [31] states that through the formation of new communities and factions formed through social media, the political influence is carried and is embraced by individuals’ part of communities. Furthermore, a rise in protests due to social media has also been linked in reference [31] for the political sense. Furthermore, the study stresses that sensitive political issues are discussed more openly on social media as compared to other digital media platforms, which impact geopolitics as governments like to censor some sort of information in order to preserve their image. However, the research of Chausovsky [32] states that the use of social media is influenced by geopolitics rather than the other way around. The study states that social media has the potential to act in political development, while it has already done so. However, the study states that impact is limited and cannot be a subject to carry out revolutions, while, ushering in regime change following these revolutions, social media simply serves as one tool among many as a force for political change [32]. Furthermore, it is discussed in the study that geopolitics can influence the usage of social media, as the regions such as Russia and China restrict the usage of foreign social media networks while making their own products for their people. Nonetheless, some form of exposure and escape from restrictions is found by social media users, even in strict Internet usage regions. The article further emphasizes the fact that social media has influenced political decisions, yet it does not possess the power for causing something as big and significant as a revolution [32].

In the study by Simons [33], it is stated that social media and new media are playing a greater part in international relations and politics. They are being used as a means to defend the existing world order and as a means to undermine it. These new forms of media are potentially very potent instruments of influencing the course and discussions on the existing world order and its possible directions. They are able to unite diverse groups and individuals spread across the planet dedicated to specific issues [33]. It has been stated that social media is being used by politicians to spread their message and not engage individuals. However, the messages received by the individuals are to be self-interpreted and acted upon accordingly [33].

Engesser et al. [34], in their study, link populism and social media and portray how politicians use social media as populists. The study states that politicians have the power to influence individuals on social media by adopting certain strategies that compliment populism [34]. Social media has provided a strong opportunity to populist politicians as they can reach a high number of people by using attractive content. Five key elements of populism were derived by [34] from the literature: advocating for the people, emphasizing the sovereignty of the people, ostracizing others, attacking the elite, and invoking the “heartland.” The qualitative studies revealed that populism presented itself in a fragmented form on social media. The study also states that populist politicians are given much more freedom on social media to express themselves and spread their ideas. The research conducted by [34] has given an opportunity in the future for better measurement and refined conceptualization of populism, especially regarding populism in social media.

It has been found in the study by Crilley and Gillespie [35] that a lack of accountability from social media outlets can cause the political use of social media to be out of control. The political use of social media platforms is conducted on unethical grounds and should be subject to appropriate restrictions. Reference [35] states that journalism has been harder due to social media that is influenced by populist politicians. The study states that due to few restrictions and open accessibility, the politicians can influence individuals on the social media platforms easily, which may be unethical on some grounds. Furthermore, the study states that a huge amount of data available on social media platforms of users can be used in politics by individuals to their advantage. The research further states that social media has made earnings for journalism harder, causing negative economic growth in that particular sector. The study suggests that there should be more restrictions on the use of social media by politicians to their advantage as it creates security concerns for the users [35].

In the study by Kiuru and Inkinen [36], it is found that there is a relationship between economic growth and social media; however, the relationship is negative as it has been observed that cities with fewer social media activities have a better growth from an economic point of view. Productivity is a measure that has been applied to multiple types of research to identify economic growth [36]. A decrease in productivity due to social media represents a decrease in the economic growth of a certain area. However, the study states that innovation leads to better economic growth, while the growth of social media can potentially be damaging to economic growth [36].

The geopolitical impact is further emphasized by [37] and [38], where it is observed that data-driven social media has both pros and cons in modern societies. Nations tightly control their information to express deterrence in modern geopolitics, which reflects the existence of negative consequences. Although it can be argued that social media do not have any revolutionary effects that change political systems, it does have evolutionary effects. Social media has helped raise movements against corruption and authoritarianism.

A summary of the findings made from the 10 studies in the present research is given in Table 2.

4. Discussion

5. Developing Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Computing Tools to Mitigate the Risks

Social media is computer-mediated technologies with a huge amount of internet-based communication. Therefore, it generates a high risk for geopolitics and smooth economic growth from bad actors. AI and cognitive computing could help us mitigate those risks of social media. Following AI and cognitive computing tools can be used to address these issues.

6. Conclusions

Social media are online platforms that are able to facilitate the sharing and creation of career interests, ideas, and information, in addition to other forms of expression through networks and communities that are virtual, whereas geopolitics represents politics that is defined by geographical factors such as international relations. While economic growth can be defined as the increase in the financial means of a specific entity. Social media has seen a huge rise in users since the late 2000s decade, which has given rise to multiple opportunities and also risks. The discussion in the present study is based on the impact of social media on geopolitics and economic growth and the developing AI and cognitive computing tools to mitigate the risks.

It is identified through the studies that geopolitics is impacted by social media through the users’ ability. Politicians can use social media to influence individuals by using certain strategies. Two strategies have linked populism theory to a politician’s ability to influence individuals through social media. The ability to influence individuals through social media by politicians has been categorized as unethical and bad practice by multiple studies as the situation may lead to a conflict of interest at a later stage. Furthermore, it is identified that social media has given rise to the spread of news that is troublesome for geopolitics as some governments or organizations like to preserve the ability to censor content for their own benefit. Another implication identified by social media on geopolitics is the number of protests caused by the platforms. However, it is important to note that an opposite effect also occurs, that is, in the case of less censorship, there is a greater development of social media.

Regarding economic growth, it is stated in multiple studies that there is a significant and negative impact of social media on economic growth. The negative impact has been observed due to the fact that productivity level has decreased with the increasing usage of social media. Contradicting views, however, have been provided in other studies that have stated that there is a good opportunity through social media for having a participatory economy, which can be beneficial for countries. However, the mass development of social media coincided with the global financial crisis (2007–2009); thus, a spurious relationship between social media and economic growth may also exist.

It has been identified that social media has both positive and negative impacts on geopolitics and economic growth. Social media is able to unite diverse groups and individuals spread across the planet dedicated to specific issues. On the other hand, some argue that social sharing has encouraged people to use computers and mobile phones to express their concerns on social issues without actually having to engage actively with campaigns in real life. Their support is limited to pressing the “Like” button or sharing content. However, this thorough study ensures that the present study is valuable to academia and the relevant stakeholders to develop new theories and new AI and cognitive computing tools that can help mitigate the risks of social media for geopolitics to ensure smooth economic growth.

It is suggested for future researchers regarding the topic to analyze the impact of social media on censorship as there are still conflicting views on this subject and academia benefit from a well-constructed model on the impact of social media on censorship. Furthermore, it is suggested for future researchers conduct empirical research on social media’s impact on economic growth with the use of relevant theories; it is found in the present study that the impact is negative, yet there is a conflicting points of view presented in other accessed material. Therefore, academia can find value in an empirical study related to the impact of social media on economic growth.

Conflicts of Interest

The author declares that there are no conflicts of interest associated with this publication.