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  1. Oct 2022
    1. The information ecosystem is broken. Our political conversations are happening on infrastructure—Facebook, YouTube, Twitter—built for viral advertising. The velocity of social sharing, the power of recommendation algorithms, the scale of social networks, and the accessibility of media manipulation technology has created an environment where pseudo events, half-truths, and outright fabrications thrive. Edward Murrow has been usurped by Alex Jones.

      I believe the variable of lies and misinformation thriving in virality is based on the idea that negativity is more engaging and intriguing than positivity. When something stimulates a negative feeling such as fear or anxiety, people engage because they feel insecure whether it be relative to the condition of their environment or internal self-perception. For example, if you read something negative about the President, you care because you live in the United States and relate it to your own well-being. Further, if someone read negative articles about a person they envy, they may feel inclined to engage & share it because that person's success made them feel inferior. Unfortunately, negativity sells.