Political Communities

Ive been reading through the week 9 tutorial and lecture transcripts, and its got me thinking about political communities. That is to say, communities that are created and affected by online information.

In some respects, the Internet as a communication medium has opened out eyes to a lot of different ideas that we may not have had access to otherwise. The only way that smaller political parties, such as the UK Independence Party, can get their views out to a mass audience in a cost effective way is via the Internet – they do not have the same access to the media that the Labour party may have. It also gives them the opportunity to push their own propaganda on people – some would argue this is wrong, but it’s the same thing mainstream parties have been doing for years, only via the Internet rather than the Press / TV.

On the other end of the scale we see the darker side of online communities. I for one am all for free speech, as I believe the only way we can find out the truth about anything is to allow people to TELL the truth. However, after the July 7th bombings, reports begin to come in about websites praising the bombings, and others addressing their ‘followers’ to claim a success against the West and encouraging others to do the same. This isn’t so much as expressing a view, as it is inciting violence.

These communities may not be based online, but for many of them their following may be. Supporting the UK independence party and voting for them is very real, but your support of them will most likely be from online communications, such as emails, as they have no other way of reaching a mass audience.