I was thrilled when the technological revolution pushed aside the old media gatekeepers and Americans could, finally, gain access to a treasure trove of information. After the internet came into its own, the mainstream media could no longer tell us what to think. We could read and publish stories that never saw the light of day. With a few keyboard strokes, people could now watch legislative proceedings, access court documents and delve into academic reports.
I naively thought that a new dawn of truth telling was emerging. Sadly, that dawn often looks like the dark of night. I'd never want to go back to the old media days, but people now largely exist in their own information bubbles. No one can even agree on basic facts. Partisanship so severely distorts how we see the world that even the best reporting can't compete with some cockamamie YouTube video offered by some basement-dwelling poseur.
Even the basic concept of free speech has become another truncheon in the nation's ongoing battle between tribes. Each side claims to be its champion, but neither consistently supports such principles. Conservatives were rightly aghast when the Biden administration tried to muscle social-media companies into quashing alternative views about pandemic-related policies.
