> “The format…rewards the most inflammatory takes, the most emotionally manipulative tactics, and the most viral-ready soundbites. Anyone going into these situa

> “The format…rewards the most inflammatory takes, the most emotionally manipulative tactics, and the most viral-ready soundbites. Anyone going into these situations with good faith gets steamrolled by participants who understand they’re playing a different game entirely.” This seems to be the permanent _mode_ for the president (and all the appointees who manage to hold their positions). I’ve hypothesized this is why the movement is so popular. Members want to learn the patterns because the bullying and trolling “wins”. But you can’t argue this way within your group/tribe. It’s too demeaning, and undermining of people’s identity/self-worth. And so, the president continually manufactures outsiders and targets. Publicly with personal attacks, and more recently (totally unscientific conclusion) it’s all “democrats” (democratic party). Copy these arguments and win. Practice on these targets. Never target the group (and conveniently, never introspect/question your own actions). What is this? A cult? The second thing interesting in the article, “The “debate me bro” playbook is simple and effective…” Reading the list of steps immediately give me the idea of an algorithm. We’ve struggled with the idea of the Social Media algorithm for years now. What’s the difference between “the algorithm” and the “playbook”?