Simply sharing crazy, salacious stories became a form of political activism. As with the dopamine-fueled cycle of “shares” and “likes,” it also had a druglike effect on internet partisans. Each new “hit” of real (or fake) news broadcast on social media might be just enough to help their chosen candidate win. There was also a sort of raw entertainment to it—a no-holds-barred battle in which actual positions on policy no longer mattered. This, too, was infectious. Now taking their lead from what was trending online, traditional media outlets followed suit. Across the board, just one-tenth of
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