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Abstract

Leaders from across the political spectrum are often accused of manipulating the
media to their benefit. Contemporary developments have proliferated the number of
media sources available to citizens. We argue that new, independent media sources
may actually be a boon for leaders looking to control information. Using a simple
formal model, we demonstrate a phenomenon of “displacement”—where the presence
of alternative sources of information can actually reduce the required effort for states to succeed in obfuscating citizen learning. This is because alternative media sources mean
that states only need to divert citizen attention without employing full obstruction,
reducing the necessary effort expended. This result advances our understanding of
how the contemporary state navigates an increasingly complex media landscape. We
supplement the model with case studies on the media policies of Malaysian and Turkish
governments.