American Prestige E228 - How The Internet Broke America w/ Garrett Graff
6 snips
Sep 30, 2025 
Garrett Graff, a historian and journalist known for his insights on political history and national security, joins to discuss how the internet has shifted from a tool of liberation to one of polarization. They delve into Facebook's algorithmic choices that amplify outrage and how the legacy of Watergate has fueled distrust in institutions. Graff connects economic dislocation and Trump's rise to a protest against the system, while warning about the potential pitfalls of AI echoing past mistakes in social media regulation.
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Algorithms Amplified Political Polarization
- Garrett Graff frames social media as a central driver of today's polarization and collapse of shared facts.
- He argues algorithms intended to maximize engagement amplified outrage and eroded trust in institutions.
Optimism Gave Way To Monetized Growth
- Early hopes for social media as democratizing tools shifted after companies prioritized monetization and growth.
- Specific corporate choices in the 2010s turned platforms into engines for conspiracism and polarization.
Engagement-First Design Favored Outrage
- Graff explains Facebook chose engagement-first ranking that privileged negative reactions fivefold over likes.
- That choice structurally increased users' exposure to content they 'disliked' and drove more extreme reactions online.
