Youtube's algorithm recommended a video to me last evening whose title was (loosely) "Hurricane Helene is a Dem hoax." I didn't click on it because I didn't want to encourage the algorithm.
That particular would-be conspiracy theory is spectacularly moronic. What I don't know if it is actually believed by many people or if this is simply social media click bait. The problem is that either can be possible. That is, I now believe that there could be people who believe this, after all we've seen loads of examples of people believing far more stupid things. Even the premier of Alberta didn't dismiss chem trails bs a few days ago. But it could just as easily be click bait whose origins are people who like to create mischief or those who are more sinister.
This kind of nonsense devalues social media and it should cause them trouble. Either people will turn off them completely, the way people ignored The National Enquirer (well, some people anyway) and they go belly-up, or social media will need to be regulated. There are many people who cringe at the thought of regulation, and I understand that, but at some point we might have to prevent the worst abuses for the same reasons we fight forest fires. Because not doing so is worse. The bar is set so low that it's almost impossible to avoid the worst of it when you're logged in.
I listened to an NPR Fresh Air podcast episode that did a debriefing of what happened at Twitter/X. It's a shit show now, I'm told. Musk laid off 3/4s of the staff and he's still losing millions every month. When you stop to think about it, that's the kind of business acumen that led to the downfall of Trump's casino. Maybe there's a reason the two of them get along, despite the fact that Trump used to speak out against electric cars. Honestly, how can you lay off 75% of your staff and still lose money? I hope it's gone soon.
