Disintermediated broadcasting displaced knowledge gatekeepers and enabled conspiracy entrepreneurs
Evidence
One force behind the emergence of the new conspiracism is plain: the revolution in broadcast technology that allows anyone to disseminate what he or she writes or says without any intermediary and at no cost. This has displaced the gatekeepers, the producers, editors, and scholars who decided what was worthy of dissemination. The way is opened for conspiracy entrepreneurs who initiate and disseminate a seemingly infinite array of wild accusations. — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 103
Categorization
- XREF: Echoes McLuhan/Innis-style medium-determinism arguments about communication technology reshaping gatekeeping; consistent with the reader’s communication-as-culture materials. — connects to: Conspiracy megaphones like InfoWars transform forum rumor into mass broadcast. — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 222; Platform economics sustain a professional class of conspiracy merchants — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 115; Open communications plus weakened authority favor improvisational millenarian entrepreneurs — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic…, 151 (+5 more)
Broader Connections
- Removing editorial gatekeepers opened the way for conspiracy entrepreneurs
#expands(0.95) - Privatized fast-knowledge plus the Internet enables demagoguery
#corroborates(0.80) - Stigmatized-knowledge belief channels believers toward conspiracy theories
#expands(0.75) — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 186 - Social media ideology derives from the hacker ethic of sharing and DIY
#expands(0.75) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 67 - Disproportionate effect-to-cause gaps drive people toward conspiracy explanations
#complicates(0.70) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 116