Traffic

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The origin story of the Age of Disinformation unfolds through the experiences of two online media rivals, Jonah Peretti of HuffPost and BuzzFeed and Nick Denton of Gawker Media. Their relentless pursuit of attention helped unleash dark forces that would ultimately reshape the internet and American society. In the early 2000s, after the dotcom crash but before the rise of tech giants like Google and Facebook, New York City emerged as a potential tech hub. Within a few blocks, Denton’s Gawker empire and Peretti’s teams at HuffPost and BuzzFeed laid the groundwork for viral media. This era, marked by a belief in digital news as a vehicle for truth, was fueled by the notion that online activism had played a role in electing Barack Obama. Ben Smith, who later gained notoriety as BuzzFeed’s editor-in-chief, provides a sharp and witty account of this transformative period. He examines the complexities of Denton’s radical transparency versus Peretti’s click-driven approach, highlighting the unintended consequences that followed. The narrative reveals a striking irony: the internet, initially seen as a tool for progressive change, has become a catalyst for right populism, with figures like Steve Bannon and Andrew Breitbart emerging as pivotal players. By 2020, the dynamics had shifted dramatically, making this exploration of the media landscape both essential and captivating.