Epstein, Social Hysteria, and the War on Science

### **Prologue: Ghosts in the Algorithm**I’ve spent a substantial chunk of my life under the ceaseless glare of social media. It’s a place where a quote can eclipse a wedding photo shared by none other than Mark Zuckerberg, or even a presidential re-election post that was hailed as one of the most viral images of its time. At one point in my career, I was arguably the most visible writer on Facebook—my daily reach outstripped what some mainstream media outlets could ever dream of. In that st...