
This week's epic fight over funding the government captures the power — and flaws — of the new information ecosystem.
Why it matters: Elon Musk and his followers on X proved they dominate the Republican media industrial complex — using a digital revolt to kill a spending bill, and open the door to a government shutdown. That revolt was powered by some false information, tweeted with total self-certainty.
"We aren't just the media here now. We are also the government," Donald Trump Jr. tweeted yesterday to his 13 million followers.
MAGA's online army now can assess "information rapidly & pressure our representatives to act in a manner that actually represents what we want," Don Jr. added. "They can't hide and do the bidding of swamp oligarchs anymore."