"Charlie Kirk's mastery of social media was key to his rise as an influence in conservative politics. So the extent to which his death and its aftermath have played out on those forums shouldn't come as a surprise. In a microcosm of life today, social media is where Americans have gone to process last week's killing in Utah and is the chief tool his supporters are using to police those they feel aren't offering proper respect."
"Investigators are probing the time the man accused of killing Kirk, Tyler Robinson, spent in the "dark corners of the internet" - anti-social media, if you will - leading up to when he allegedly pulled the trigger. On the other side of the world, as the Kirk story preoccupied Americans, Nepal reeled from a spasm of violence that erupted when the government tried to ban social media platforms."
"how they control what we see and understand through algorithms, and the way all the time we spend on them affects our view of the world. Utah's governor, Republican Spencer Cox, believes "cancer" isn't a strong enough word to describe social media. "The most powerful companies in the history of the world have figured out how to hack our brains, get us addicted to outrage ... and get us to hate each other," Cox said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press.""
Social media now mediates civic life and political influence. Charlie Kirk's mastery of social platforms propelled his conservative influence, and his killing and aftermath unfolded prominently on those forums. Americans turned to social platforms to process the Utah killing, and supporters used them to police perceived disrespect. Investigators are probing the time the accused, Tyler Robinson, spent in the "dark corners of the internet" before the alleged attack. A separate instance in Nepal saw violence after a government attempt to ban social platforms. Public figures warn that algorithmic designs addict users, amplify outrage, shape perceptions, and can worsen social divisions.
Read at Boston.com
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