Nowhere do you see more evidence of Karl Bode‘s thesis than in the VRM shields on news sites that legitimately discriminate against ad blockers (newsrooms cost money after all) but also disallow the protection of data privacy tools. Consumer surveillance has become more important and more profitable than news. We warned agains this, loudly, in 1995. Yet here we are.
Bode’s road back is smart:
— publicly-funded newsrooms and journalism initiatives
— decentralized social media platforms
— more self- discipline against amplying rage bait
— and more
America’s Right-Wing Propaganda Problem Might Be Terminal - Dame Magazine
America’s descent into mass delusion isn’t happenstance. The demise of courageous journalism isn’t a happy accident. Its replacement with engagement-chasing infotainment and propaganda isn’t an error. It’s a global assault on reason and informed consensus, and corporations and authoritarian bullies like Donald Trump are both architects and benefactors. For decades, academics warned anybody who’d listen