How the Internet Transformed Political Communication: The Tension between Democracy-Enhancing Networks and the Private Market Corporations that Reign

Political communication encompasses all messages passed between political actors, citizens, and the mediums that facilitate them, namely media including broadcast television, radio, newspapers, and digital platforms. The rapid proliferation of social media platforms through the internet has expanded opportunities for vertical and lateral political communication available to both citizens and political actors, as shown through enhanced political efficacy and social movements, like #MeToo. However, the private corporations that govern popular social media platforms are profit-motivated, driving them to employ manipulative technologies and act as arbitrary gatekeepers. Their private-market impetus undermines the internet’s potential to enhance political communication’s informational, truth-seeking, and political accountability purposes. As a result, misinformation, trivialization, and abuse are augmented through political communication on the internet. Overcoming these challenges requires increased digital literacy amongst platform users and government intervention to reshape the profit structures at play in social media corporations.