Sorry, but the claim that the people (non-"Elites", for some ill-defined set of "Elites") are now free agents and "going from a republic of elites to a direct democracy" doesn't hold up. It's tragic, but the introduction of social media, pervasive exposure to propaganda through smartphones and television, and the gradual improvement of computer algorithms (and deep pockets) designed to outsmart peoples' ability to filter bullshit has done us in.

From TFA:

> YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook let one human broadcast to billions, without permission, without censors, without delay. Social media makes mass organization and resistance possible.

There is plenty of censorship on all of the above media. For an overview, Wikipedia yields:

"YouTube blocking occurs for a variety of reasons including:[2]

    Limiting public exposure to content that may ignite social or political unrest;
    Preventing criticism of a ruler, government, government officials, religion, or religious leaders;
    Violations of national laws, including:
        Copyright and intellectual property protection laws;
        Violations of hate speech, ethics, or morality-based laws; and
        National security legislation.
    Preventing access to videos judged to be inappropriate for youth;
    Reducing distractions at work or school; and
    Reducing the amount of network bandwidth used.

"

> Social and alternative media dominates and disintermediates mass media.

Mass media became social and alternative media. On steroids.

>YouTube killed TV and Twitter ate the news.

TV became YouTube, and the news became Twitter. On steroids.

> [...] the elites have lost control.

The same elites that own Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc.?