The Reconfiguration of the Public Sphere

Abstract

This chapter discusses the completely new reality determined by the emergence of new private actors who dominate and shape the communication and information infrastructure—i.e. the digital platforms. The digital media ecosystem has become one of the main battlefields of contemporary geopolitical competition. This chapter reflects on the changes in the media and information ecosystem, arguing that some of them pose significant risks, leading to a particular type of crisis in the contemporary democratic societies. Three main problems in the public sphere are identified and exemplified: the disturbance in the relationship between information and democracy, the use of digital affordances to strategically highjack public conversions, and the increased fragility of news media, under the pressure of platformization.