2024/01/05 by Derek Hrynyshyn
paper · doi:10.7275/democratic-communique.1685
Until the last few years, the vast majority of theorizing about the politicalimplications of online social networking capacities tended to assume thatnew communications media would empower progressive forces against theundemocratic tendencies in industrialized countries. However, the electionof Donald Trump, the electoral success of similar political movements in other capitalist democracies, and the rise to prominence of the so-called ‘alt-right’ in numerous online spaces constitute a development that requires re-examination of much of the common wisdom about social media and politics. This essay explores why earlier optimistic theory cannot explain why reactionary ideas have been so politically successful in the world of social media.