Public Opinion Is Created by Online Firestorms: Mechanisms Shaking Democracy

The direct catalyst for writing this book was the series of events surrounding the 2024 elections. The excitement on social media began to clearly link not just to mere topics or atmosphere, but to actual voting behavior and election results. Clipped videos and fragmentary information spread in a short time, pushing facts and context into the background. I strongly felt, not only as a researcher but as an individual living in society, that such changes are becoming directly connected to democratic decision-making.

Therefore, when I received the request from the editor, it felt natural. Rather, I felt that the awareness of the issues I have been feeling in recent years overlapped with the questions posed by society. I believed that incidents involving online firestorms and fake information were challenges that society as a whole must face head-on, even before they were research themes.

In this book, using specific examples and data such as social media elections, online abuse, and generative AI, I wanted to consider the question of how democracy is being shaken, where it can hold its ground, and how we can create a better society in the "age of total human media" where everyone has become a sender of information.

I believe that a researcher's mission is not only to accumulate knowledge but also to give back to society and contribute to creating an environment where people can make more appropriate judgments. Unless we verbalize why problems occur, how they spread, and how they affect people's behavior, society will continue to tread water in the same place. In that sense, I am grateful to have been able to share this question with readers in the form of a paperback (Shinsho).

Online firestorms and polarization are not special events happening somewhere in politics or cyberspace; they are an extension of our daily lives. The behavior of each individual using social media shapes the atmosphere of society, and the accumulation of those actions influences the state of public opinion and elections.

Democracy is not a completed system, but a process that is constantly updated while swaying. When we encounter strong words or provocative information, how do we stop and face that information? The accumulation of those choices determines the form of democracy. I would be honored if this book serves as one piece of material for thinking about that.

"Public Opinion Is Created by Online Firestorms: Mechanisms Shaking Democracy"
Shinichi Yamaguchi
Chikuma Shinsho
208 pages, 990 yen (tax included)