The Contours of the Post-public Sphere
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60054/SBG.2025.29.104-116Keywords:
public sphere, new media, social networks, post truthAbstract
The text focuses on discussions about the crisis of the public sphere in the context of the transition from traditional to new media. It traces some key theses related to the deformations of publicity and the new mechanisms of forming audiences and public opinion. It examines the possibility of conceptualizing a new, post-public sphere, which is a negation of Habermas's idea of publicity, but at the same time functions as a tool for understanding and analyzing the communicative situation in the post-truth era.
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