The “post-truth, post-order, and post-west” ethos of our time signals a fundamental challenge to many classical theories (e.g. agenda-setting and public sphere theory) in the field of political communication that were built upon the assumption of a coherent public sphere. To illustrate, we trace the development of the networked public sphere theory and explain how it has failed to account for asymmetrical polarization in the cyberspace and the rise of emotion-based alternative spheres. We point future research towards the information diffusion and organizational mechanisms of the alternative spheres and their effect on real-time analysis of public sentiments, and suggest provincialization – introducing theories and practices originated from non-western regions – as a strategy to reformulate the field of political communication.