IPMAT Indore 2025 · Verbal Ability · Question 33

IPMAT Indore 2025 previous year question on RC Detail and Fact Based Questions, with the answer and a step-by-step solution.

RC Detail and Fact Based QuestionsReading Comprehension - Question TypesMultiple choiceMedium

RC passage 1: Passage — this question belongs to a set. Read the full set with all 6 questions →

Meta is recalibrating content on its social media platforms as the political tide has turned in Washington, with Mark Zuckerberg announcing last week that his company plans to fire its US fact-checkers. Fact-checking evolved in response to allegations of misinformation and is being watered down in response to accusations of censorship. Social media does not have solutions to either. Community review — introduced by Elon Musk at X and planned by Zuckerberg for Facebook and Instagram — is not a significant improvement over fact-checking. Having Washington lean on foreign governments over content moderation does not benefit free speech. Yet, that is the nature of the social media beast, designed to amplify bias.

Information and misinformation continue to jostle on social media at the mercy of user discretion. Social media now has enough control over all other forms of media to broaden its reach. It is the connective tissue for mass consumption of entertainment, and alternative platforms are reworking their engagement with social media. Technologies are shaping up to drive this advantage further through synthetic content targeted precisely at its intended audience. Meta's algorithm will now play up politics because it is the flavour of the season.

The Achilles' Heel of social media is informed choice which could turn against misinformation. Its move away from content moderation is driven by the need to be more inclusive, yet unfiltered content can push users away from social media towards legacy forms that have better moderation systems in place. Lawmakers across the world are unlikely to give social media a free run, even if Donald Trump is working on their case. Protections have already been put in place across jurisdictions over misinformation. These may be difficult to dismantle, even if the Republicans pull US-owned social media companies further to the right. Media consumption is, in essence, evidence-based judgement that mediums must adapt to. Content moderation, not free speech, is the adaptation mechanism. Musk and Zuckerberg are not exempt.

The inherent downside associated with social media is that it

A
creates and spreads much innate and acquired prejudice.
B
does not address the problem of the digital divide.
C
results in unremitting expansion of freedom of expression.
D
reinforces existing objectivity among the users.

Pick an option, then check.

Answer & solution

Answer: Option A

Line in the passage

Para 1, last sentence — that is the nature of the social media beast, designed to amplify bias.

How to reach it, step by step

Step 1. The key word is 'inherent' — built into the thing itself. Look for a line about what social media is by design, not about what it is currently doing.

Step 2. Paragraph 1 closes with precisely that: by design, the medium amplifies bias.

Step 3. Translate 'bias' into the option language. Bias = prejudice. 'Innate and acquired' covers both the prejudice a user already holds and the prejudice the feed builds in them. 'Amplify' covers both creating and spreading.

Step 4. Option (a) is that sentence in other words. Select it.

Why the other three fall

(b) The digital divide is never raised anywhere in the passage. Out of scope.

(d) A one-word trap. The passage says bias is amplified; this option says objectivity is reinforced — the exact opposite.

Teaching point: Flag option (d) in class. It is a classic single-word reversal: swap 'bias' for 'objectivity' and students who are matching by sentence shape rather than meaning will fall for it.

IPMAT Indore 2025 · Verbal Ability · Question 33

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