Social Media and Democracy
The State of the Field, Prospects for Reform

A state-of-the-art account of what we know and do not know about the effects of digital technology on democracy.

Nathaniel Persily (Edited by), Joshua A. Tucker (Edited by)

9781108812894, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 3 September 2020

350 pages
15.5 x 23 x 2.5 cm, 0.55 kg

'Social Media and Democracy is an excellent book that manages to achieve multiple objectives in a relatively short space. The scholarly quality of the contributors is very high, and the depth of discussion is praiseworthy … [It] is a great reference for both researchers and practitioners working on a wide variety of crucial questions that the volume compels us to examine.' Cantay Caliskan, Perspectives on Politics

Over the last five years, widespread concern about the effects of social media on democracy has led to an explosion in research from different disciplines and corners of academia. This book is the first of its kind to take stock of this emerging multi-disciplinary field by synthesizing what we know, identifying what we do not know and obstacles to future research, and charting a course for the future inquiry. Chapters by leading scholars cover major topics – from disinformation to hate speech to political advertising – and situate recent developments in the context of key policy questions. In addition, the book canvasses existing reform proposals in order to address widely perceived threats that social media poses to democracy. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

1. Introduction Nathaniel Persily and Joshua A. Tucker
2. Misinformation, Disinformation, and Online Propaganda Andrew M. Guess and Benjamin A. Lyons
3. Social Media, Echo Chambers, and Political Polarization Pablo Barbera
4. Online Hate Speech Alexandra A. Siegel
5. Bots and Computational Propaganda: Automation for Communication and Control Samuel C. Woolley
6. Online Political Advertising in the United States Erika Franklin Fowler, Michael M. Franz, and Travis N. Ridout
7. Democratic Creative Destruction? The Effect of a Changing Media Landscape on Democracy Rasmus Kleis Nielsen and Richard Fletcher
8. Misinformation and Its Correction Chloe Wittenberg and Adam J. Berinsky
9. Comparative Media Regulation in the US and Europe Francis Fukuyama and Andrew Grotto
10. Facts and Where to Find Them: Empirical Research on Internet Platforms and Online Speech Daphne Keller and Paddy Leerssen
11. Dealing with Disinformation: Evaluating the Case for CDA 230 Amendment Tim Hwang
12. Democratic Transparency in the Platform Society Robert Gorwa and Timothy Garton Ash
13. Conclusion: The Challenges and Opportunities for Social Media Research Nathaniel Persily and Joshua A. Tucker.

Subject Areas: Impact of science & technology on society [PDR], Media, information & communication industries [KNT], Comparative politics [JPB], Politics & government [JP], Ethical issues: scientific & technological developments [JFMG], Media studies [JFD], History of the Americas [HBJK], Communication studies [GTC]