Steve Bannon recognized that the “virtual” worlds of the Internet are so much more real than most people realize. Americans check their phones on average fifty-two times per day. Many now sleep with their phones charging beside them—they sleep with their phones more than they sleep with people. The first and last thing they see in their waking hours is a screen. And what people see on that screen can motivate them to commit acts of hatred and, in some cases, acts of extreme violence. There is no such thing as “just online” anymore, and online information—or disinformation—that engages its
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