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The people who used to be able to manipulate public opinion are really, really pissed off that others are doing it and they’re even more pissed off that manipul

The people who used to be able to manipulate public opinion are really, really pissed off that others are doing it and they’re even more pissed off that manipulating public opinion has become more difficult and people who aren’t respectable members of the elite are being listened to by the public. Before the internet Sanders, Trump, AOC, Yang, they would never have gotten anywhere. The ruling class is pissed off that people aren’t doing what they’re told and they want to stuff the communications revolution genie back in its bottle.

ghaff 7y ago
There were plenty of outsider demagogues in politics long before the Internet.
MichaelMoser123 7y ago
I dont know about Trump, but this makes some sense. Thanks.
PorterDuff 7y ago
To tell you the truth, I think that Trump would have done well in any political era, particularly those where unflagging public speaking was necessary to get the gig. Good political instincts, ability to speak extemporaneously (a rare ability in the modern era). I expect that he could have picked up a House seat fairly easily on the way to a Presidential campaign as sort of a Williams Jennings Bryanesque character. I do agree though that the internet has changed the character of politics (painfully obvious). Anything that breaks the back of newspapers and broadcasters as gatekeepers isn't such a bad thing, the trick is to avoid having youtube/facebook/etc. become activist successors to the NYT and CBS.
CM30 7y ago
Yeah, pretty much this. And to be honest, as someone who's both done independent journalism and known people who do the same, it's honestly kind of worrying. I suspect the old guard despise the new media sites and creators the internet has brought about, and the competition it's giving them, and are trying everything they can to try and make them go away.

ghaff 7y ago

There were plenty of outsider demagogues in politics long before the Internet.

MichaelMoser123 7y ago

I dont know about Trump, but this makes some sense. Thanks.

PorterDuff 7y ago

To tell you the truth, I think that Trump would have done well in any political era, particularly those where unflagging public speaking was necessary to get the gig. Good political instincts, ability to speak extemporaneously (a rare ability in the modern era). I expect that he could have picked up a House seat fairly easily on the way to a Presidential campaign as sort of a Williams Jennings Bryanesque character. I do agree though that the internet has changed the character of politics (painfully obvious). Anything that breaks the back of newspapers and broadcasters as gatekeepers isn't such a bad thing, the trick is to avoid having youtube/facebook/etc. become activist successors to the NYT and CBS.

CM30 7y ago

Yeah, pretty much this. And to be honest, as someone who's both done independent journalism and known people who do the same, it's honestly kind of worrying. I suspect the old guard despise the new media sites and creators the internet has brought about, and the competition it's giving them, and are trying everything they can to try and make them go away.