Disinformation, Democracy and the Myth of the Informed Citizen

Abstract

There is an emerging policy discourse in the European Union that the current democratic malaise that Europe is facing is a product of a ‘post-truth’ mentality that is contemporaneous with, and caused by, the rise in social media use. More specifically the ease with which malign actors can disseminate disinformation via social media and online more generally has a material effect on political processes and democratic elections. I argue that this discourse exaggerates both the novelty and perniciousness of online disinformation for democracy.