How Modern Media Reshaped Politics and Protest
The modern digital age has permeated daily life across the globe, amplifying the reach and presence of mass media in unprecedented ways. This transformation is reflected in the emergence of phenomena such as 24-hour news cycles and the subsequent development of information consumption. However, since the start of the 21st century, these sectors of the media and media engagement have undergone a profound facelift due to the popularity of social media. Contemporary society’s dependence on these platforms has redefined our methods of communication, ushering us into an era characterized by mass hyper-politicalization.
Slowly and surely, news has seeped its way into both digital and social spaces, now serving as a primary source of daily news for 34 per cent of the global population. As people become increasingly reliant on social media and news outlets, corporations increasingly shift their profit-oriented gaze towards their audiences. This dangerously morphs media coverage into a political tool—one that, once yielded, blurs the distinction between factual reporting and opinion-based content in favour of audience retention and rapid consumption.
Such developments mark the rise of political infotainment—the convergence of politics and entertainment within media to increase public engagement. The phenomenon exists across many forms of media, from commentary programs and satirical news shows to social media influencers and political personalities. However, the central issue with political infotainment lies in the sensationalization of information and society’s corresponding erosion of trust in journalistic credibility.
The political implications of this trend have been profoundly visible during the Arab Spring, often referred to as the “Facebook Revolution.” These uprisings spread like wildfire throughout the Middle East, using social media as a tool for mass mobilization amid shared public distress. Beginning in Tunisia, these revolutions soon spread to a dozen other countries, demonstrating the democratizing potential of digital communication, as well as its destabilizing risks. While initially, these pro-democracy protests exemplified the positive aspects of social media, their long-term success proved flawed. These protests were soon weakened by performative activism, misinformation, and the twisting narratives pushed out by transnational broadcasters. In nations like Yemen, major television networks facilitated the spread of misinformation, hate speech, and weaponized political agendas that were consumed by the public; further reflecting the growing use of modern media as a weapon of persuasion rather than a sector of transparent communication.
Such themes of political narration reemerged in North America during the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. The movement was sparked in 2013 after insurance investigator George Zimmerman was acquitted for fatally shooting and killing teenager Trayvon Martin, resulting in an angered public response on Facebook that quickly led to protests. This movement found national interest in 2020 after the murder of another Black man, George Floyd, starting waves of hashtag activism and introducing political narratives into a debate of having just law and order. In the instance of BLM, social media platforms amplified the voices of marginalized communities and mobilized widespread calls for justice. Yet soon, these same voices and anecdotes became twisted in corporate media, reshaping the movement to favour partisan lines and profit-oriented interests, demonstrating political infotainment’s lasting social effects.
Noticeably, media coverage of the protests appeared to diverge along both sides of the American political aisle. Among outlets like CNN, a large amount of coverage of BLM protests was framed as overwhelmingly positive, reflecting a version of the movement aligned with the outlet’s large Democratic audience’s views on the matter. On the other hand, Fox News, a large, leading outlet in conservative media, frequently painted these demonstrations as chaotic and unlawful. These polarizing opinions similarly resonated with the network’s dominantly right-leaning audience, demonstrating a lack of nonpartisan media framing. The media consequences of BLM highlight political infotainment’s ability to mould public perception while failing to maintain a healthy mix of media, politics, and entertainment in contemporary newscasting.
The use of emotion to control mainstream media and the differing features of social media in politics both contribute to the declining legitimacy of globalized media institutions. As audiences face conflicting arguments across numerous platforms, skepticism towards journalistic credibility increases, eroding the sense of societal trust needed in public and media dynamics. The use of social media as a political tool has furthered political polarization worldwide, demonstrating the harmful long-term effects of political infotainment. Social media algorithms, created to maximize engagement, have only served to further reinforce these divisions, fabricating online echo chambers and subsequently amplifying confirmation bias.
The decline in trust and credibility within the media ecosystem due to blatant political infotainment is a dangerous reality that needs to be remedied. If integrity is to be restored, efforts must be made to increase platform accountability, transparency, or media literacy efforts. Contemporary society must make a concerted effort to reorient the media from profit and persuasion to accuracy and awareness.
Edited by Dahlia Harrison-Irwin.
Featured Image: Swarms of Protesters in Tunisia in 2013 by Amine Ghrabi is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.
