Clearly, the qualities Poles admire in a secretary of state - foreign languages, diplomatic experience, even sense of humor - are emphatically not those desired in a head of state: So be it.
Anne ApplebaumRead
If we can't have a public debate because the information space is so polluted, or because people are afraid of the reactions of organized trolls, then we can't really have meaningful elections anymore, either.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Public discourse is essential for meaningful elections, yet a polluted information space can hinder this process.
Anne Applebaum emphasizes the critical role of open public debate in democratic elections. When the information space is contaminated by misinformation and when individuals are intimidated by organized trolls, the foundation of meaningful discourse erodes, making it difficult for citizens to make informed choices during elections.
Themes
Public DebateInformation PollutionElectionsDemocracyTrolls
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech advocating for media literacy, one might say, 'As Anne Applebaum pointed out, if we can't have a public debate because the information space is so polluted, we risk undermining our elections.'
More from Anne Applebaum
All quotes →At times when people fear death, they go along with measures that they believe, rightly or wrongly, will save them - even if that means a loss of freedom. Such measures have been popular in the past.
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Birtherism surely increased Americans' distrust of politics, though in ways that are hard to pin down. By contrast, when anti-vaxxers persuade parents not to vaccinate children, the result can be sickness and even death.
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Quite a lot has been written, including by me, about the effect of social media on politics, and in particular the way in which the algorithms built into Facebook and YouTube are more likely to spread angry, extremist and deliberately provocative political language.
Anne ApplebaumRead
As a journalist, I know what it is like to incur the self-righteous wrath of people who denounce you for things you didn't say or didn't mean.
Anne ApplebaumRead
Elections are always a Rorschach test - people look at the results and see what they want to see.
Anne ApplebaumRead
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