In today's NYT, Thomas Edsall advances the theory that social media has made the disaffected voter, who would tear down the pillars of democracy, a much more powerful actor than their actual numbers would suggest.
The rise of Google, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram has allowed outlandish rumors to spread via masters of this new form of social warfare. tRump, Alex Jones and others spread lunacy like the "Pizzagate" conspiracy and the rumor that Sandy Hook was a false flag government operation to advance a gun control agenda.
Edsall goes on to speculate that a tRump defeat in 2020 might spark a mass revolt by these Facebook warriors. I really doubt that. Most of the keyboard commandos are retired white men who long for the social order of the 1950s when their cohort ruled and women, POC, LGBTQ and other minorities knew their place. They might ratchet up the noise on social media, but most of us will welcome the end of a particularly nasty episode in American history. We may not be able to put the genie back in the bottle, but I doubt she is as powerful as Edsall thinks.
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