Before 2016, many people believed the internet was a democratizing force. While "fake news" may have some folks rethinking this with regard to politics, there are still places on the web that give voice to those without a platform and provide access that wasn't previously available.

In Japan, there are forums for 四コマ漫画 (yonkoma manga, four-panel comics) — comic strips that, as the name suggests, generally feature four コマ (koma, panels/frames), which are aligned vertically.

Yonkoma manga were popularized in the early 1900s, and until recently they mostly appeared in newspapers, magazines and manga. But the internet has provided would-be manga artists with an easy way to publish their own yonkoma, resulting in a wide variety of different stories that are easily accessible and free. Relatively less wordy, they can be useful reading materials for language learners too.