Özet:

The emergence and rise of the newspaper, radio, television and other mass media has enabled the development of the “fourth estate”, as an independent institution that is central to pluralist democratic processes. But, media became a part of dominant and capitalist structure over time. Also, intertwining political power and the media causes citizens to make evaluation whether fourth estate’s function fulfills. In this context, fifth estate as a new player of the media game has seen itself in the position of the fourth estate that fulfills reporting, scrutinizing, and commenting functions from a critical distance in eighteenth-century, rather than becoming a part of traditional and institutional power. However, in twenty-first century, fifth estate internet has provided the transition from print-based counter culture to cyber culture and also, online communication has revitalized and globalized the fifth estate internet which monitors mainstream media, offers alternative coverage of issues and produces alternative forms of journalism. Besides, the increasing use of the internet and digital technologies has created a space for networking individuals in ways that enables a new source of accountability in state, government and politics. In the light of these considerations, in this study, has been done a literature review, structure of internet as a social phenomenon and fifth estate as a robust concept has been examined comprehensively in order to manifest to be fifth estate has the potential in the twenty-first as important as the fourth estate has potential since the eighteenth century, even fifth estate has potential far more than fourth estate and in this context, it has been focused fifth estate notion as part of characteristics and purposes for use of internet and it has been discussed threats to this a new estate is thought that will be active and efficient in sustaining of democracy from established institutions. In conclusion, in this study, it has been represented fifth estate internet’s contributions to democracy and the basics of democratic transformation

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