The bumpy road of e-democracy. The internet as a challenge to the concept of fourth estate

Abstract

The text is an analysis of the impact that the information revolution has had on the realisation of the concept of the fourth estate. The exponential increase in the availability of information, associated with the expansion of the Internet, has changed the shape of public debate and the hierarchy of actors participating in it. As a result, the increase in opportunities for manipulation has been accompanied by a reduction in the chances of verifying the reliability of information and its sources. Such a formula of political communication makes the control of public authorities, which is the essence of the idea of the fourth estate, significantly more difficult in the realities of the information revolution.