PUBLIC RELATIONS
Democracy In The Digital Age : Threats And Possibilities
By Irene Mbonge
The advent of the digital age was imagined to be the signature development in the advancement of democracy worldwide . In light of this , Information and communications technologies were to provide greater access to knowledge and more avenues for connecting and engaging with each other , and indeed they have .
Nevertheless , the downsides and discontentment of the digital era have also become increasingly apparent . Broader trends , like the proliferation of misinformation and political polarization , among other consequences , while not solely caused by digital technologies , seem to be exacerbated by the development and growth of digital technology .
Initially , many heralded the advent of communication technology as a new dawn for democracy and prosperity . Indeed , the information age continues to present new opportunities for economic growth , enhanced health and security , and more effective governance . Equally , our democratic institutions have leveraged new tools to enhance civic and political participation , democratize access to information , and address intractable public policy challenges .
However , more recently our information and communication technology landscape has posed challenges and exposed new vulnerabilities to our democratic institutions . The digital age has brought with it cyber security threats that were initially confined to cyber espionage and cyber vandalism . More recently , it has provided a new array of tools for nefarious forces looking to disrupt democratic norms and undermine stable governance .
There is mounting evidence that communication technology , and social media in particular , has the effect of
The downsides and discontentment of the digital era have also become increasingly apparent . Broader trends , like the proliferation of misinformation and political polarization , among other consequences , while not solely caused by digital technologies , seem to be exacerbated by the development and growth of digital technology . deepening political polarization and social fragmentation . The ‘ attention economy ’ relies on generating audiences and this is best achieved by telling people what they already believe and doing so in a way that elicits emotion . Confirmation bias and political outrage within virtual forums of the like-minded create a steady flow of traffic , rewarding extreme views and vitriol at the expense of civil deliberation – and too frequently , the truth .
Lies , mischaracterization , and bias interpretation are not new problems in politics , but the speed and distance with which social media allows them to travel is unprecedented , making it an outsized threat to the development of the wellinformed citizens that democracy requires .
Unhindered by the costs associated with producing quality news , fake news sources easily proliferate and are more viral . Citizens become unwitting participants in the spread of “ fake news ” falling prey to stories that support their narrative about political adversaries .
As one study by Buzzfeed showed , during the 2016 U . S . presidential elections , fake news stories were shared on Facebook 8.7 million times while real news was shared 7.3 million times . Similarly , in the months leading up to the 2016 election , the amount of engagement on social media for posts from sites such as Freedom Daily , on which almost half the content is false or misleading , was on average nearly 19 times higher than for posts from mainstream news outlets .
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