Within three weeks, South Korea experienced one transient declaration of martial lawits sudden cancellation and the impeachment its president Yoon Suk Yeol.
An underappreciated driver of the recent drama is the rise of YouTube agitators, activists and influencers who’re making the most of and fueling a brand new sort of populism. The impact in South Korea is serious – however the trend is global.
An extremely online constituency
In the 2022 South Korean election, Yoon trailed his opponent for much of the campaign. He is aggressive Populist politics received some support, nevertheless it gave the look of it will fail.
Then he found it a brand new constituency – a gaggle of lively and partisan young men who campaigned for the abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. These agitators used YouTube and other platforms to spread their message.
This crowd, together with traditional conservative voters, allowed Yoon a narrow victory and control of South Korea's strongest political position. He then duly abolished The gender ministry said structural sexism was “a thing of the past”.
After gaining power, Yoon relented Arrest warrants for several of his supposed political opponents. Among these was Kim Yeo Juna critical and inflammatory YouTube journalist and a polarizing populist figure with ties to liberal politics. Kim's weekly videos Send news, guest interviews and snarky comments to hundreds of thousands of lively followers.
We have turn out to be accustomed to the concept that social media platforms Influence democratic processes by disseminating news and evaluation and by directing users' attention by recommending specific content. However, the increasing political visibility of platform actors like Kim suggests that the influence is becoming more direct.
Platforms for populist news and views
Social media platforms provide access to a big selection of stories and media producers, from mainstream media outlets to independent commentators at the acute ends of the political spectrum. However, not all news receives the identical attention.
Research shows, no less than in South Korea, fake news receives more likes and interactions than verifiable messages. “Real news” is commonly dismissed and ridiculed.
Further South Korean research shows residents could also be using platforms Look for conspiracy theories and despise unpopular political groups or decisions. Users also notorious direct hatred on topics comparable to women's rights.
These problems will not be limited to South Korea. Polarizing and populist news and evaluation is a worldwide phenomenon.
Trust in traditional news media is declining, partly due to fear in keeping with elite and powerful personalities. These fears are sometimes confirmed Social media influencer who wish to turn out to be the brand new opinion leaders.
Online influencers are great vehicles for populist politics. They normally have close relationships with their viewers suggest easy solutionsand frequently resist accountability and fact-checking.
Platforms are sometimes more more likely to recommend polarizing and even radicalizing content for viewers, crowding out more balanced content.
Platforms for journalism?
However, these polarizing personalities will not be alone in these areas. Experienced journalists and newcomers get used to the platforms and still provide reliable information.
On YouTube, former mainstream journalists, comparable to B. Australia Michael West and the American Phil Edwardshave built a following while combining personal and casual content with more traditional journalism.
Non-journalists, comparable to Money & Macro and the English Tom Nicholashave expanded their influence by adopting some basic journalistic practices. With the support of their many viewers, they produce content that researches, explores and explains current news and evaluation.
These YouTube news influencers show that journalistic content can contribute to the brand new news media ecosystem and attract large audiences without counting on populist and polarizing content.
“Newsfluencer” produce Journalism on platformsB. YouTube, adapt their content to the conventions of the platforms.
Newsfluencer and the long run
Newsfluencers often film in informal settings moderately than traditional sets, constructing an informal relationship with their audience. They use “authenticity” and exit of their method to “Avoid looking like polished corporate media“.
Their diverse sources of income include advertisements, sponsors, merchandise and, most significantly, direct audience contributions. These contributions may be made through memberships or through third-party platforms comparable to Patreon and Substack.
Even major news organizations like Australia's ABC have began adopting YouTuber norms. While the present podcast was produced under the auspices of the national broadcaster If you listenFor example, with its casual style and deal with giving the audience what they need, it significantly outperforms traditionally formatted content.
In South Korea there are YouTube channels like VoiceOfSeoul Take similar steps and mix street reporting with informal talk show panels and investigative journalism. OhMyTV combines YouTuber and breaking news styles and includes hyperlinks for private contributions and sponsorships.
At the identical time, legacy media like KBS maintains a powerful following via TV and portal sites like Naver. However, KBS's conventional format is struggling to realize comparable viewership on the increasingly dominant platforms on which these unconventional journalists thrive.
There is a transparent space for journalism on YouTube and similar platforms. However, it has to adapt.
As the South Korean experience shows, the time may come when platform journalism is crucial to democracy.
image credit : theconversation.com