Facebook Democracy: The Architecture of Disclosure and the Threat to Public Life

In this book, Marichal argues that understanding Facebook’s impact on political processes requires an understanding of how Facebook’s architecture of disclosure shapes the construction of individuals’ political identities by drawing users further into their pre-selected social networks. Drawing on a number of disciplines and an ethnographic analysis of 250 Facebook political groups, Marichal explores how Facebook’s emphasis on social connection impacts key dimensions of political participation: e.g. mobilization, deliberation, and attitude formation.

José Marichal is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at California Lutheran University, USA.