The Liquefaction of Publicness: Communication, Democracy and the Public Sphere in the Internet Age, Vol. 25 - 2018, No. 1

Modern Political Communication and Web 2.0 in Representative Democracies

Petros Iosifidis, Mark Wheeler, pages: 110-118

During the first two decades of the twenty-first century, the social media has facilitated interactive communications between the political elites and public. In the 2016 UK Referendum, the social media became a vehicle for contested political arguments and post-truth positions defined the Remain and Leave camps. For instance, it was claimed that the United Kingdom Independence Party former leader Nigel Farage’s anti-migrant tweets influenced many voters. In the 2016 US Presidential election, the victorious celebrity property tycoon Donald Trump maintained a controversial online presence. He posted tweets about his campaign and engaged in a blatantly hateful online discourse aimed at his political opponents. Therefore, does such a usage of the social media aid democratic representation or contribute to a greater destabilisation of modern politics?

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