Social media has been in the glare since the election for its perceived harmful qualities, such as the spreading of hate speech and the false information. But the effect of social media on world affairs is much larger than just misinformation and mean tweets, Farhad Manjoo writes. The election of Donald J. Trump, who used Twitter to magnify his message, is evidence of that shift, Farhad writes. So was the rise of Bernie Sanders, whose liberal philosophy and policies were also spread by social media. And there are many other examples, such as Brexit and the momentum behind ISIS, of events and movements most likely enabled by social media.

Source: New York Times November 16, 2016 17:55 UTC