Kim Kardashian Instagram followers

The world average Democracy Index slipping while Kim Kardashian's Instagram follower count climbs. Two completely unrelated trends, on opposite sides of the regression line, both creatures of the same global platform decade.

The Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index has trended down for over a decade, with global average scores falling as authoritarian backsliding and democratic recession spread across multiple regions. Kim Kardashian's Instagram followers grew from about 25 million in 2014 to over 250 million by 2021. Two completely unrelated lines on opposite trajectories sharing a window because the same seven years saw two completely different platform-and-political pressures: one global democratic mood, one individual's follower count.

Two graphs about the same platform decade. One found audience; one lost ground. The platforms were generous about both.