Reclaiming the Digital Public Square: Democracy, Social Media & Cooperative Tech

What happens to democracy when social media becomes the public square?

In this episode of Let’s Talk Democracy, host Tina Johnson speaks with technologist and civic activist Daniel Bingham about how platforms like Facebook and Twitter reshaped civic life — and how their ad-driven business models may be fueling polarization instead of healthy dialogue.

Together, they explore:

• How venture capital and advertising incentives shape online discourse
• The concept of “enshittification” and platform decline
• Why polarization may be a design outcome
• The limits of decentralization and the Fediverse
• How democratic governance could transform social media

Daniel shares his work building Communities — a democratically governed, user-funded social platform designed to align technology with democratic values instead of shareholder profit.

If you're interested in:

✔ Digital democracy

✔ Ethical social media

✔ Civic engagement

✔ Cooperative governance

✔ The future of online dialogue

This episode offers both critique and a practical alternative.

Explore Communities in open beta using the link https://communities.social/about/contribute

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