The collapse of corporate journalism is evident and accelerating rapidly.
The question that remains is: what will fill this void?
For me, it will be the Networks.
The first phase, Inclusion, is already underway. We've moved from a pre-internet world dominated by centralized media oligopolies to the era of social media, where anyone can play the role of a citizen journalist—exposing wrongdoings, organizing protests, and challenging power structures and narratives.
The second phase is Coordination. How do we create better collective sensemaking and communication tools?
We need more technologies for fact-checking, moderation, and context-adding. It's also crucial to create environments that optimize for nuance and reduce the noise that plagues algorithm-driven platforms, which often amplify inflammatory content. Additionally, it’s important to develop better business models for quality content—ones that escape the harmful incentives of click-based, ad-driven systems.
But it’s essential to balance two realities: despite its flaws, social media represents a massive leap forward compared to corporate media.
Of course, traditional outlets will try to convince you that digital platforms are a step in the wrong direction. After all, that’s what any corporation does when startups threaten its monopoly. They will fight to preserve their hegemony.
The truth, however, is that social media has been a critical breakthrough for social and economic inclusion. Voices from marginalized groups that once had no platform can now reach millions with videos denouncing human rights abuses, for instance. They can also overcome the economic hardships of their birthplace by working remotely or pursuing digital entrepreneurship.
That’s why it’s crucial to acknowledge the problems of digital platforms so we can keep improving—but without falling for the seductive short-term fixes offered by legacy institutions. These unconstitutional actions we're witnessing from Brazil's Supreme Court justices, disguised as security measures, are subterfuges to maintain and expand the power of legacy systems.
However, the real threat to our democracy is this power asymmetry—where one man can create a law overnight that forbids over 200 million citizens from accessing the world’s primary social tool.
