How Liberals Lost the Internet: The Digital Politics Revolution
There exists a peculiar habit of characterising social media as a domain utilised by others – the youth engrossed in TikTok, the conspiracy-minded relative on Facebook, or the right-wing agitators on X. In reality, digital platforms have become ubiquitous. Global social media users exceeded 5 billion in 2024, a staggering figure when considered against a world population of approximately 8 billion.
The Transformation of Communication and Information
The internet has fundamentally reshaped how we communicate and disseminate information. Initially, the digital revolution targeted print media. As freely accessible online content began outperforming subscription-based newspapers, publishers briefly discovered new audiences on Facebook, only to witness referral traffic collapse after the platform started suppressing posts containing external links.
Now, digital platforms are concluding the broadcast era. Slightly over 15 million viewers watched England's defeat by Spain in the Euro 2024 final. In contrast, podcaster Joe Rogan boasts more than 14 million followers on Spotify alone, with an additional 20 million subscribers on YouTube. While Rogan's reach is international, numerous lesser-known influencers produce weekly or daily YouTube shows that attract audiences rivalling and even exceeding the nightly viewership of BBC News at Six. This is unequivocally the era of posting.
The New Political Arena: Community, Debate, and Ideology
This shift transcends merely where people obtain information or misinformation. The online world has become the primary space where communities are built, ideologies are debated, and policies are shaped. Digital platforms fundamentally alter the form and style of these discussions. Online, the decision to drink tap water can become as politically charged as debates on reducing net migration. Posting provocative content can influence policy more rapidly than participating in a physical protest. The allure of politics increasingly revolves less around addressing material interests and more around discovering what feels authentic amidst a sea of fakes, digital filters, and AI-generated content.
The Undertow of Social Media and the Fall of Gatekeepers
The relentless churn of social media functions like a powerful undertow, dragging political conversations toward ideas and tropes that garner sufficient engagement to surface in the attention economy. Traditional political communication, with its emphasis on meticulously focus-group-tested messaging, is either swept away or becomes fodder for mockery, trolling, and conspiracy theories. The institutional gatekeepers of old have fallen, replaced by influencers who thrive by skilfully navigating the capricious currents of audience attention.
Case Studies: Platform Dynamics and Political Strategy
On X, Elon Musk has reinstated figures such as Nick Fuentes, a white supremacist and antisemitic livestreamer, who now commands half the follower count of Keir Starmer. The recently reinstated Andrew Tate surpasses the Prime Minister's follower count by a staggering 9 million. The Labour Party might emphasise its focus on delivering sensible policies over online posting, yet this approach has inadvertently led it into a conspiratorial quagmire concerning its digital ID policy.
Conversely, Reform UK is successfully riding the digital wave, producing content finely tuned to the ever-shifting trends on platforms like TikTok. On that platform, its leader, Nigel Farage, has amassed more followers than all other MPs combined. Emulating successful influencers, he promotes merchandise and shares videos of himself either relaxing or aggressively confronting journalists. His audience often remixes these clips into supercuts set to "phonk" music, a subgenre of Memphis hip-hop adopted by online reactionaries.
The Evolution of Propaganda: From Fake News to Shareable Content
Russia has faced justified criticism for disseminating disinformation. However, pro-Kremlin propaganda is evolving beyond posting simplistic "fake news." It now involves seeding platforms with shareable TikTok stickers and reusable audio templates, including techno remixes of Soviet folk songs that have become the unofficial soundtrack for pro-Russian war content on TikTok.
The Misplaced Focus: Emotion and Attention as the True Battleground
The predominant liberal focus on combating disinformation fundamentally misinterprets the mechanics of digital platforms. Misleading content is pervasive, but the genuine battleground is over emotion and attention. These factors ultimately determine whether information – whether accurate or false – finds and retains an audience. This explains why cutting-edge propagandists now concentrate less on detailed policy messaging and more on cultivating and massaging specific emotional "vibes."
The Political Consequence: Centrist Stasis Versus Reactionary Momentum
As traditional centrist politicians strive desperately to project an image of sensibility, their opponents – occasionally on the left, but predominantly on the reactionary right – operate with few constraints. They ride an ideological wave steered solely by the feverish attention of an increasingly desperate and profoundly online electorate. The methodology of politics has irrevocably changed. Politicians must urgently awaken to this new digital reality.
