I think that this also partially reflects a change in how media worked 20+ years ago and today.
The way most people were exposed to current events 20+ years ago was through a small handful of television news outlets, and if you were trying to manufacture consent for something and drum up some pro-war rhetoric you could get large portions of the country on the same page through the relatively small number of media sources that covered ~90% of America's exposure to the news.
Now in the social media era the ways in which people consume news/current events is much more splintered and fractured. Which makes it harder to get everyone marching to the beat of the same drum, but it also means you can create content specifically tailored to inflame the worst impulses of whichever micro-demographic you're trying to target without having to worry about your messaging needing to have mass appeal because you're not trying to make sure that your broadcast network keeps its audience.
I think that this also partially reflects a change in how media worked 20+ years ago and today.
The way most people were exposed to current events 20+ years ago was through a small handful of television news outlets, and if you were trying to manufacture consent for something and drum up some pro-war rhetoric you could get large portions of the country on the same page through the relatively small number of media sources that covered ~90% of America's exposure to the news.
Now in the social media era the ways in which people consume news/current events is much more splintered and fractured. Which makes it harder to get everyone marching to the beat of the same drum, but it also means you can create content specifically tailored to inflame the worst impulses of whichever micro-demographic you're trying to target without having to worry about your messaging needing to have mass appeal because you're not trying to make sure that your broadcast network keeps its audience.