Overview of The Threats
The threats to this promise outlined in the literature are significant however, and most are intricately bound up with the concentration of power in profit-driven companies. The seven key threats we identified to inclusive democracy from digital media were: the increasing power of private platforms, foreign government interference in democratic processes, surveillance and data protection issues, fake news, misinformation and disinformation, filter bubbles and echo chambers, hate speech and trolling, and distrust/dissatisfaction with democracy.
Some of these threats or problems originate in the structures and systems of society e.g the power of private platforms over people’s lives. Others operate at an individual level e.g. a growing distrust of democracy. However, all these threats are interconnected. Together they threaten to derail the democratic promise of digital media.
