3 ms·

I'm not American so I overlooked the US-specific question in my response. Things seem more divided in Australia too. We also have social media... A lot of what

by prawn 6y ago

I'm not American so I overlooked the US-specific question in my response. Things seem more divided in Australia too. We also have social media... A lot of what you have raised are topics/movements/messages pushed/strengthened via social media, easier publishing, etc. I didn't raise social media to blame Google; I was thinking of what these tools enable alongside the cooking blogs and DIY videos.

krapp 6y ago
OK. I was specifically talking about US politics. Although now that I think about it, a lot of what I mentioned could also be traced back to 9/11 - calling Obama a crypto-muslim wouldn't have been a valid way of spreading FUD about his intentions otherwise. There is also apparently something of a global right-wing/right-populist movement underway. I don't know about Australia, though. As far as social media goes, I see it as a catalyst - it doesn't create the problems but it does help their effect spread. Deplatforming and regulation of social media might help stop the spread (although I support the former and not the latter) but we still as a society have to address the underlying issues. Something like QAnon doesn't take off simply because it's a viral meme, but because it resonates with people's existing fears and beliefs.