# The Two-Step Flow The two-step flow is a premise in mass communications under which **people make political decisions based on the information of opinion leaders.** ![[Two-step flow of communication#^6q18mi]] DeAnna proposed that **in the age of social media, it forms a third step, as people are also influenced by the populist messaging spread by their friends and relatives (and not just traditional opinion leaders)** (see [[Social Media Gave Birth to Fake News]]). This thinking could explain the radicalization of political opinions as the more radical thinkers also tend to be the loudest.