What happens to trust when attention becomes more valuable than the truth?
TL;DR
Social media did not create anger or dishonesty, but it gave those instincts an extraordinarily efficient distribution system. With global news trust at 37% and AI making fakes harder to spot, Booker Loud argues the question is no longer whether platforms influence us but what we choose to let them amplify. He calls for digital environments where kindness, connection, and constructive disagreement can compete for attention.
We have built an internet space where attention can be more valuable than truth. That decision is beginning to cost us something far more important: trust.
What concerns me is how quickly attention has become its own form of currency.
Social media did not invent anger, dishonesty, division or human frustration. Those things existed long before smartphones. What digital platforms have done is give those instincts an extraordinarily efficient distribution system.
When outrage generates engagement, outrage travels. When sensationalism produces clicks, it gets...
Copyright of this story solely belongs to thenextweb.com. To see the full text click HERE
