How Liberals Lost Their Digital Influence: Robert Topinka’s Analysis

In an era where social media dominates global communication, the political landscape is undergoing a radical transformation. Recent statistics reveal a staggering reality: more than 5 billion people worldwide now use social media platforms—representing over 60% of the global population.

This digital revolution has fundamentally altered how information flows and how political discourse takes shape. Traditional media was the first casualty, as print publications saw their business models collapse under the weight of free online content. Many publishers initially found refuge on Facebook, only to watch their traffic evaporate when the platform began deprioritizing external links in its algorithms.

Television broadcasting is now facing a similar existential threat. While 15 million viewers tuned in to watch England’s defeat by Spain in the Euro 2024 final, podcaster Joe Rogan commands a combined audience of over 34 million followers across Spotify and YouTube. The comparison illustrates a dramatic power shift, with numerous mid-tier content creators regularly attracting audiences that rival or exceed traditional news broadcasts like BBC News at Six.

But social media’s influence extends far beyond viewership metrics. These platforms have become the primary arenas where communities form, ideologies develop, and policy debates unfold. The digital environment has flattened the hierarchy of issues—discussions about tap water safety can generate as much engagement as immigration policy debates. Online authenticity often trumps substance, with content that feels genuine cutting through the noise of artificial intelligence-generated material and corporate messaging.

The algorithmic nature of social media creates a distinctive undertow that pulls political conversations toward content designed to maximize engagement. Traditional political communication strategies, built around focus-grouped messaging and careful positioning, frequently fail in this environment. Instead, they become targets for mockery, trolling, and conspiracy theories.

Elon Musk’s management of X (formerly Twitter) exemplifies these shifting dynamics. His decision to reinstate controversial figures has reshaped the platform’s influence landscape. White supremacist Nick Fuentes now has half as many X followers as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. More strikingly, influencer Andrew Tate—also recently reinstated—exceeds the Prime Minister’s follower count by 9 million.

While Labour has emphasized policy development over digital engagement, this approach has left the party vulnerable to conspiracy theories surrounding its digital ID initiative. Meanwhile, Reform UK has demonstrated a sophisticated understanding of social media dynamics, particularly on TikTok, where party leader Nigel Farage has amassed more followers than all other British MPs combined.

Farage employs classic influencer tactics—selling merchandise and posting videos of himself “owning” journalists or simply “vibing.” His supporters transform these clips into compilation videos set to “phonk” music, a Memphis hip-hop subgenre that has been appropriated by reactionary online communities.

The evolution of propaganda techniques illustrates how platform dynamics now shape political messaging. Russia’s disinformation strategy has evolved beyond spreading fake news to creating shareable TikTok stickers and audio templates, including techno remixes of Soviet folk songs that have become soundtracks for pro-Russian war content.

This shift highlights a crucial misunderstanding in how many liberal observers analyze digital platforms. While concerns about disinformation are valid, the primary battleground is for emotion and attention—the factors that determine whether any information, accurate or not, finds an audience. Modern propagandists increasingly focus less on explicit policy messages and more on cultivating particular emotional responses.

As centrist politicians struggle to appear reasonable and measured, their opponents—particularly on the reactionary right—exploit platform dynamics to reach audiences that traditional political communication cannot access.

The rules of political engagement have fundamentally changed, and politicians who fail to adapt to this new reality risk finding themselves increasingly marginalized in the digital public square.