@zeynep's recent article for MIT Tech Review is (characteristically) cogent and full of gems. You've likely seen it shared already, read it if you haven't.
technologyreview.com/s/611806/how-s…
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Thread · 6 tweets · 20 Aug 2018
"Old gatekeepers failed in many ways, and no doubt that failure helped fuel mistrust and doubt; but the new gatekeepers succeed by fueling mistrust and doubt, as long as the clicks keep coming."
"The problem is that when we encounter opposing views in the age and context of social media, it’s not like reading them in a newspaper while sitting alone. It’s like hearing them from the opposing team while sitting with our fellow fans in a football stadium."
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"Our cognitive universe isn’t an echo chamber, but our social one is. This is why the various projects for fact-checking claims in the news, while valuable, don’t convince people. Belonging is stronger than facts."
"It was to make the world “more open and connected.” It turns out that this isn’t necessarily an unalloyed good. Open to what, and connected how? The need to ask those questions is perhaps the biggest lesson of all."
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Having spent much time and energy trying to make things better with the Internet, the sobering truth of what has actually happened over the past few years hits close to home.
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