Struggle in Cyberspace

Fact and Friction on the World Wide Web

Bibliographic Data

ID9750890
AuthorsJames E Katz (0000-0002-7441-1078, corresponding author)
Year1998
Volume560
Issue1
Pages194-199
Publication date1998-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-7162 • E-ISSN: 1552-3349
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0002716298560001015
OpenAlexW2001388847
LanguageEN
Citations received8

The Internet and World Wide Web have transformed the way local cultures produce and maintain solidarity regarding what should be accepted as facts. These technologies provide a level playing field—it is no longer the case that those with the most massive resources will have the biggest audience. Indeed, many small sites command huge followings. The Internet and the Web allow for the quick dissemination of information, both false and true; unlike newspapers and other media outlets, there are often no quality control mechanisms on Web sites that would permit users to know what information is generally recognized fact and what is spurious. On the Internet and the Web, facts more easily escape from their creator's or owner's control and, once unleashed, can be bandied about. Groups that wish to control what is perceived as fact will find the Internet a threat. Those groups that hail competition between outlooks will welcome what the Web hath wrought

Advertising · Business · Control (management · Cyberspace · Internet privacy · Newspaper · Political science · Politics · Solidarity · The Internet · Web Accessibility Initiative · Web application security · Web development · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Law · Social Media and Politics

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