The Internet is the first mass medium lacking gatekeepers

Evidence

By the beginning of the year 2000, there were in excess of a billion Web pages in existence, as compared to only 1.3 million fi ve years earlier. Besides the sheer volume of material it can accommodate, the Internet is the fi rst mass medium without gatekeepers. No intermediaries, such as editors, publishers, or producers, stand between the content provider and the distribution of the message. — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 147

Categorization

• XREF: Explains the mechanism behind claims that algorithm-less open platforms feed conspiracist subcultures. — connects to: The Internet spreads stigmatized knowledge faster regardless of evidence quality — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic…, 545; The Internet lets individuals bypass gatekeepers and create personalized symbolic environments; Traditional media are institutionalized and gatekept while social media are accessible and reciprocal

Broader Connections

• The Internet lets individuals bypass gatekeepers and create personalized symbolic environments #corroborates (0.92)
• Traditional media are institutionalized and gatekept while social media are accessible and reciprocal #corroborates (0.85)