There has been a very important (and destructive) development in our public rhetoric, which is not new, but becoming more pervasive: the success of hate-click-inducing articles. In the economy of the internet, clicks are currency because they represent attention, and attention can be turned into money by way of advertising revenue. It’s not unlike the ratings system of network television. The more people who are watching a show, the higher price that network can charge for commercial time.   Well in today’s world, people are after web traffic, and they will use any and every tactic to maximize clicks. One way to do that is to illicit a reaction. Strangely enough, human psychology is such that a negative reaction is often more apt to produce action than a nuanced or thoughtful take. So people produce content that is intentionally  combative, racist, controversial, prodding and often just plain bad. This induces us to share such bad takes in a sort of “can you believe this person?” way. This in turn encourages the practice, and more extreme views, more offensive content and more bad takes are produced, the creators of which are handsomely rewarded.   This is is a case where the […]