It helped when media was limited so there was only a limited set of channels. If there are 5 quality channels, the lowest quality channel might still have an ob

It helped when media was limited so there was only a limited set of channels. If there are 5 quality channels, the lowest quality channel might still have an objectively high quality (as forced to by the fairness doctrine), now there are infinite channels of all qualities. The problem isn't what the media pedals, it's that the media that is most emotional engaging or comforting is also the most desirable. People will choose the media that reflects the most comfortable reality for them. A coal miner is going to prefer to watch media that says coal mining is here to stay rather than media that says in 5 years there will be no more coal mining. You and I might optimize for media we find the most truthful, but most people are going to prefer the media that makes them most comfortable (even if that comfort is a state of constantly being enraged), and now that's not limited by the different broadcast frequencies, it is only limited by a person's time to scroll until they find a message they like.