@strypey
No. There's just one side to the balance I mentioned. They bring in heavy overweight and I won't. The fact that we're lacking certain additional means of amplification over here isn't going to make much of a difference. When discussing poilitics, people usually follow the regular News and hence politicians already, so all the agenda setting, starting right at the wording they get to pick is happening either way.
They still get to set the agenda and I won't, putting me in a somewhat defensive position right from the start - on issues I might not even be concerned with - like - do I really want to go to war with some other country or rather why would I not, being presented with all their “facts“ like as if they came from the sky, dropped by some bomber like a carpet bombing? And usually, they get coaching and a team to support 'em, which I won't have at my disposal either, ever. Not to mention all their very well financed think tanks, working 24/7 on strategies and related sales pitches.
Add the support from mainstream media sources amplifying their agenda and it's no longer a discussion among peers. Far from it! It's still them and basically all of capitalism's media oligarchs against us - still a minority of the population, because too few would even know the fediverse exists at all. Very easily dismissed or simply used as their testing ground for certain sales pitches, turning us into mere lab rats.
Except for those few genuine leftist, greenish politicians the media won't even interview, of course, but they are the exception rather than the rule, aren't they.
@ophiocephalic @chewie