“The Myth of Social Media and Populism: Why the moral panic is misplaced” By Princeton University Professor Jan-Werner MüllerIn a foreign policy commentary in January 2024, Princeton University politics professor Jan-Werner Müller wrote in his essay “The Myth of Social Media and Populism” that every media revolution in history—in particular the emergence of the printing press, of radio broadcasting, and of TV broadcasting—had caused a moral panic and made pundits needlessly worry that these technology could doom democracy.
But Prof. Jan-Werner Müller asserts that all these social media aren’t inherently populist. He points out that even if populists are armed with today’s more invasive online media and echo chambers, democracies aren’t wanting in tools or strategies to stop them. Still, he says that democracies need the political will to combat populism: “They must not only push for better platform design and regulation but also work to strengthen what some consider a thoroughly old-fashioned institution—political parties that have the capacity to rein in leaders threatening democracy.”
Read in full Prof. Jan-Werner Müller’s “The Myth of Social Media and Populism: Why the moral panic is misplaced” in ForeignPolicy.com now!
