It seems as if you and bezmenov actually disagree. AOL was influential online but online was not an appreciable part of the media and national discourse. So A

It seems as if you and bezmenov actually disagree. AOL was influential online but online was not an appreciable part of the media and national discourse. So AOL was a big fish in a tiny lake. In comparison today, FB and Twitter both are megaliths that impact how the ocean currents circulate.