Displacement, Not Obstruction: Why Insecure Leaders Need Not Fear Free Media

Leaders from across the political spectrum are often accused of manipulating the media to their benefit. Contemporary developments have proliferated the number of media sources available to citizens. We argue that new, independent media sources may actually be a boon for leaders looking to control information. Using a simple formal model, we demonstrate a phenomenon of “displacement†—where the presence of alter- native sources of information can actually encourage states to manipulate information. This is because alternative media sources mean that states only need to divert citizen attention without employing full obstruction, reducing the necessary effort expended. This result advances our understanding of how the contemporary state navigates an increasingly complex media landscape. We supplement the model with case studies on the media policies of Malaysian and Turkish governments.