In Colorado Politics, Eric Sondermann lays out a fairly obvious truth that somehow still shocks people: our politics did not just “polarize.” It went tribal. And the biggest accelerant is the algorithm. Not some villain twirling a mustache. Just computer code doing what it’s rewarded to do, like a dog that learned which trick gets the treat.
This is happening everywhere, including right here in Colorado. Weld families, small business owners, oilfield workers, teachers, and ranch folks should care because this isn’t just online nonsense. It bleeds into school board meetings, county hearings, church potlucks, and Thanksgiving dinner. It changes how neighbors see each other. And if you think that doesn’t affect local control, budgets, public safety, and the ability to solve problems, I’ve got some beachfront property in Greeley to sell you.
Sondermann’s point is simple: algorithms feed you more of what you react to. Agreement or hatred, doesn’t matter. The platform wins either way. The result is a steady drip of tribal dopamine and demonization, and pretty soon you can’t even hear the other side without assuming they’re evil or stupid. In the Denver/Boulder Bubble, gravity is optional. Online, reality is optional too.
Here’s the part they skip: this isn’t limited to social media. As I said, I spent forty years in radio. What CNN, Fox, Newsmax, etc., do is no secret. They build an audience and monetize engagement. And there is no quicker way to build an audience than ramping up emotion. So they slop out what I call the narrative. It’s not the news, it’s the narrative. If it bleeds, it leads. If it enrages, it pays.
I call it angertainment. It’s the Outrage Industrial Complex. Your anger and subsequent engagement are what they sell to advertisers. They’re monetizing your rage. And the nation is falling apart because of it. Sure, they’ll tell you they’re “informing democracy.” And McDonald’s will tell you the McFlurry machine is working. Let’s not pretend.
Now, Sondermann floats the idea that the code could be changed to favor conflicting viewpoints and exchange across hardened lines. Maybe. But who’s going to do that voluntarily when the current model prints money? Who pays? Who profits? Who gets blamed? Until that incentive changes, the “adult thinking” sermon is going to keep bouncing off a business model built on emotional addiction.
None of this is a lecture aimed at regular people. Most folks are just trying to stay informed and raise their kids without the world going sideways. The problem is the machine, and the machine is very good at turning decent neighbors into keyboard tribes.
Locally, we can stop feeding the beast: demand shorter meetings, clearer agendas, fewer grandstanding speeches, more measurable outcomes. Personally, diversify your inputs like your retirement plan. If your information diet is 100% one tribe, you’re not informed, you’re conditioned.
And I want a few questions answered, plainly: What incentives would actually push platforms and media to reward truth over reaction? What does “balanced” mean in practice, and who decides it? And at the county and school level, how do we rebuild trust without pretending disagreement is hate?
We can disagree without lying. Bring receipts.
Let’s not pretend this is just “online.” It is changing how neighbors treat each other, and that breaks local control faster than any Denver mandate.
If the business model is outrage, you are the product. And the Outrage Industrial Complex is not going to fire itself out of moral conviction.
Locally, we can tighten up meetings and reward results over grandstanding. Personally, diversify what you read and watch like your retirement plan.
We can disagree without lying, and we can rebuild trust without pretending disagreement is hate.
Source: Colorado Politics
