Opinion leaders as a new social group in the information society

The article demonstrates that the information society has a polyhierarchical structure, where the information agenda and public opinion are shaped by a variety of actors, including opinion leaders. It is postulated that in previous types of society, social relations were characterized by vertical dependencies, and the main groups — estates or classes — formed a hierarchical structure, where the source of power was the top of this social vertical. In the information society, these connections become horizontal.