I have written on this topic before, but it bears discussion due to the recent increase in violence and threats to elected public officials. How much of this is due to the Internet and social media, and how much of it can be laid at the feet of political and business leaders?
It is an accepted cycle. Any new media that arises starts out with no regulation, because none is needed. Almost immediately individuals start pushing the boundaries. Businesses use the publicity benefits and idealogues use the public relations capabilities. Criminals soon flock in.
The Benefits of Freedom
I can recall a time not so long ago that democracies were lauding the use of the Internet for resistance groups fighting against autocratic governments.
Well, that didn’t last. We missed the possibility that disaffected groups in our own societies could use the same techniques against us.
“I may not like what you say, but I’ll defend your right to say it.”
Newspapers, public broadcasting, and telephones have gone through the same wild-west-to regulation path, the Internet is in the middle of it, and now it’s the turn for social media. It must be a tough time for civil liberties supporters with so many people pushing the boundaries of how human rights clash with freedom of expression. And that’s only the grass roots offenders.
An Unholy Alliance
Politics isn’t the only arena that creates strange bedfellows. Big business conglomerates who find governments putting increasing pressure on them to be good corporate citizens are happy to support anyone who helps to weaken the power of the people. This may sound like comparing apples to oranges, but Alberta, the Canadian province with the strongest commercial conservative support, also has the highest rate of measles in the nation. Republican states in the US made fewer moves to mitigate COVID-19, and had higher infection rates compared to Democratic states.
The Worst Result: Violence
Looking further back in history, during the French Revolution the street mobs of Paris were an important ally for Robespierre and the Reign of Terror. While doing research for my novel on the French Revolution, I quickly found out that the real action was all in Paris, and only echoes of it reached the countryside. Thanks to the internet, mob rule can be created across a whole society. Nowadays we can have a convoy of 10,000 people decend on the capital, funded by 120,000 GoFundMe participants across the country.
Perhaps the most frightening development from the point of view of democracy is the huge increase in reported threats and acts of violence against politicians. One cannot help but draw the conclusion that violence is still a useful political tool. Let us be clear; politicians and business leaders are in a competitive position for control of society. And the commercial interests aren’t unhappy when politicians are weakened.
When a bully like Pierre Poilievre (whose party claims to be business friendly) can become the second most powerful politician in Canada, and act and speak as he does in the House of Commons and in the media, he has to take his share of the responsibility for the effects.
On the Other Hand
The statistic reads, “reports of violent behaviour and speech are increasing,” we must read carefully. Violence is not necessarily increasing. As the MeToo movement proved, more people reporting incidents is a positive sign, and can result in action.
The Bottom Line
Don’t blame the media. Blame the person who sets the message. In the Internet society, when a leader in society, business, or politics indulges in bullying behaviour, they are participating in the most profound sense in the violence that is rife in our society.