Persily, Journal of Democracy (2017)

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Relevant to AI safety discussions around AI-enabled disinformation, information manipulation, and the governance challenges posed by algorithmic systems influencing public discourse and democratic integrity.

Metadata

Importance: 45/100journal articleanalysis

Summary

Nathaniel Persily analyzes how the internet and social media shaped the 2016 U.S. election, examining the roles of disinformation, filter bubbles, foreign interference, and microtargeting in undermining democratic processes. The article questions whether democratic institutions can adapt to the information ecosystem created by digital platforms. It serves as an early authoritative diagnosis of internet-era threats to democratic governance.

Key Points

•Social media platforms enabled unprecedented spread of disinformation and foreign interference in the 2016 U.S. election.
•Filter bubbles and algorithmic curation may reinforce polarization by limiting exposure to diverse viewpoints.
•Microtargeting of voters by political campaigns raises concerns about manipulation and lack of transparency.
•Traditional democratic norms and regulatory frameworks are ill-equipped to handle the speed and scale of internet-driven influence operations.
•The piece raises systemic questions about whether liberal democracy can remain robust in a high-misinformation digital environment.

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COVID-19 Update: NED is continuing to operate during this worldwide health emergency, and to make grants in support of democracy.

However, our office is closed to the public and all in-person events and meetings have been postponed, cancelled or are occurring virtually.

# The 2016 U.S. Election: Can Democracy Survive the Internet?

- [Nathaniel Persily](https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/authors/nathaniel-persily/)

**Issue Date** [April 2017](https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/issue/april-2017/)

**Volume**
28


**Issue**
2


**Page Numbers**
63-76


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The 2016 presidential election represents the latest chapter in the disintegration of the legacy institutions that had set bounds for U.S. politics in the postwar era. It is tempting (and in many ways correct) to view the Donald Trump campaign as unprecedented in its breaking of established norms of politics. Yet this type of campaign could only be successful because established institutions—especially the mainstream media and political-party organizations—had already lost most of their power, both in the United States and around the world. The void that these eroding institutions left was filled by an unmediated populist nationalism tailor-made for the Internet age.

## About the Author

_**Nathaniel Persily** is James B. McClatchy Professor of Law at Stanford Law School._

[View all work by Nathaniel Persily](https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/authors/nathaniel-persily/)

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##### Supplements

- [PDFFull-Format Endnotes – Can Democracy Survive the Internet](https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Full-Endnotes-Can-Democracy-Survive-the-Internet.pdf)

### Further Reading

Volume 32, Issue 2

#### [Rebooting Democracy](https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/rebooting-democracy/)

- [Larry Diamond](https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/authors/larry-diamond/)

A review of _Reset: Reclaiming the Internet for Civil Society,_ by Ronald J. Deibert.

Volume 36, Issue 4

#### [Why Bitcoin Is Freedom Money](https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/why-bitcoin-is-freedom-money/)

- [Alex Gladstein](https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/authors/alex-gladstein/)

Today, governments can see who buys what, who pays whom, and who donates to which cause. But they cannot easily trace or confiscate Bitcoin. The digital currency offers a lifeline…

Volume 30, Issue 1

#### [The Road to Digital Unfreedom: How Artificial Intelligence Is Reshaping Repre

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