TY - JOUR AU - Eric Loo PY - 2017/06/13 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Internet’s only as Good as Its Users JF - KnE Social Sciences JA - KSS VL - 2 IS - 4 SE - Articles DO - 10.18502/kss.v2i4.862 UR - https://knepublishing.com/index.php/KnE-Social/article/view/862 AB - The ‘democratizing’ influence of the Internet is only as effective as the political culture and the people's readiness to actively use the medium for meaningful engagement, as well as a mainstream media that is capable of being a watchdog on those in power. To achieve the democratic potential of the Internet, (a) we need to develop best practices in socio-political blogging; (b) the basic principles of ethical journalism - transparency, accuracy, accountability, fairness, verifiability - should apply to blogs that claim to provide readers a space to engage in free and honest intellectual exchanges; and (c) the Internet as a tool to instigate fundamental reforms is only as effective as its users, and the environment that allows users to generate new knowledge and critically engage in the political process. ER -