Conclusion

Abstract

This book has examined how the American political media ecosystem figures in discourses on national politics in general and on presidential politics in particular. It has shown that the internet has no single effect on democracy, news media, or people’s ability to distinguish truth from fiction. Instead, “the internet” is really an integral part of two very different media ecosystems, one of which conforms to the very worst fears of those critical of the effects of the internet on democracy and the other combines attention paid to professional media still pursuing norm-constrained journalism with diverse outlets for mobilization, challenging agenda setting and questioning the mainstream media narrative. These findings suggest that the very introduction of the internet and social media does not itself put pressure on democracy as such, but they also imply that there is no easy fix for epistemic crisis in countries where a hyperpartisan, propaganda-rich environment exists.