I began communicating about EU policies in Damascus in 2006. Internet access was dial-up, EU press releases went out by fax and Facebook users overcame first hurdles with VPNs. But neither government restrictions nor later violent crackdowns held back Syrian voices. Many risked their lives to be heard online.
Today, when every post is instant and risk-free, the value of a voice has sadly collapsed. Large language models make words sound smarter and slicker – even when their pattern-driven logic raises doubts. Everyone is an “author,” a “thought leader.”
How can policy think tanks and researchers stay afloat? Influencers and content creators have mastered algorithms and advertising to reach mass audiences. But think tanks target decision-makers in political institutions, who rarely follow the most innovative social media trends. Studies of Brussels policymakers show that personal contact is the most influential factor shaping decisions, with legacy media also still prominent.
Influence has long shifted to “new” media. But with AI increasingly generating words, images, videos, voices and “thoughts,” digital platforms are losing all authenticity? Is this why influence in Brussels remains strongest in the real world?
Could soulless social media content trigger a return to more “vintage” channels (exhibits, film festivals, unstreamed discussions and radio-style podcasts)? Or will new channels emerge that reject artificial words and images? Where, and how, will the premium for reliability and originality grow?
In 2010, the Arab Spring exploded via social media. Syrians’ online influence helped end the Assad regime 14 years later. But in today’s tsunami of automated "thought," real influence may return to the real world. For think tanks – and true thought leaders – perhaps it never left.
Bianca Baumler is Associate Director for Strategic Communication at the EPC.
The support the European Policy Centre receives for its ongoing operations, or specifically for its publications, does not constitute an endorsement of their contents, which reflect the views of the authors only. Supporters and partners cannot be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
