Newyorker's hot takes are lower quality than it's core offering of slowed down reporting about something big. This is no exception. The concluding paragraph see

Newyorker's hot takes are lower quality than it's core offering of slowed down reporting about something big. This is no exception. The concluding paragraph seems the most telling. The author seems to simply throw his hands up and say, 'I don't know, this is all about power or media or culture or something.' I think people here are looking for a deep read of this, but my read is that the assignment didn't interest the reporter and he just tried to rush it.