Democratic engagement with a digital plug-in
Imagine a summer evening in the United Kingdom, right before the Brexit referendum. Social media was flooded with posts and advertisements, each one more eye-catching than the other. But among these, a campaign called ‘Leave.EU’ began to stand out. The messages played on fears, hopes, and a sense of lost identity. ‘Leave.EU’ harnessed digital platforms to target individuals with calculated and data-driven content, shaping their perceptions and pushing them towards voting to leave the European Union.Today, as we look back at the Brexit referendum, it serves as a potent reminder of how the structure of democracy is increasingly being defined by technology. Digital platforms, once seen as great equalisers that empowered the masses and amplified previously unheard voices, have become a double-...