THE INTERNET: FREEDOM OF SPEECH OR MANIPULATION?

Miuccia Prada’s Advice for Those Who Want to Work in Fashion (2020)

Recently, I was on the phone with my friend when the topic of YouTube came up. “Hey, did you see that post about Jubilee?” they asked. Of course I have, who hasn’t? But the crazy part about this is, nothing really gets resolved during these debate videos. Those 20 v. 1 or Middle Ground videos are nothing but rage bait, and here's why.

The more we talked about it, the more frustrated we became. Jubilee markets itself as a platform for productive conversation, but often it just places people with extreme or harmful views -sometimes literal fascists -across from liberals or marginalized voices and calls it a “debate.” There’s rarely room for meaningful exchange, and people with more progressive or nuanced perspectives are often talked over or underrepresented. It’s less about bridging understanding and more about fueling engagement through conflict.

The worst part about this, it works. Surprisingly so. These videos garner millions of views not because they offer any insight, but because the algorithm rewards outrage, tension, and polarization.

The most recent debate between Mehdi Hasan and 20 far-right extremists has caused yet another reaction from the internet. On platforms like Twitter and TikTok, clips were chopped up and taken out of context -some users claimed Hasan had ‘lost’ while others pointed to the video as proof that Jubilee is nothing more than a marketing scheme.

Even filmmakers are calling it out. Minh Do posted on X (formerly Twitter):

“Jubilee producers are mainly interested in clickbait views and incendiary clips that don’t lead anyone to think any deeper about these topics. Senseless conversation purely for views.”

This situation captures exactly what Johann Hari warns about in Chapter 12 of Stolen Focus: algorithms aren’t neutral. They don’t just reflect what we’re interested in -they actively guide us toward what will keep us hooked. The more divisive or inflammatory the content, the more engagement it generates. Platforms reward that with reach. And just like that, what started as ‘dialogue’ becomes spectacle.

“Our attention and focus have been raided, pillaged, and poisoned by huge external forces—and we have been told to do the equivalent of dusting our homes and washing our hands more, when we should have been doing the equivalent of banning lead paint and petrol all along. In many ways, the story of resistance to lead poisoning is a model for us to follow now.”

Johann Hari (2022)

This isn’t about having a healthier screen time or improving our habits, but about recognizing the system that is poisoning public discourse for profit.

Jubilee is just one example of that poison. What do we really gain from watching the video with Mehdi Hasan? Is racism bad? Is fascism dangerous? These should already be given. So why are we rewarding platforms that give harmful ideologies a seat at the table –and a microphone? Why are we treating basic human decency like it’s up for debate?

There’s already enough discourse -enough poison -circulating online and festering within our current presidential administration. It’s easy to blame people for being distracted, to point fingers at individuals for losing focus. But the problem goes far beyond that. Our attention is being stolen not just by phones or social media apps, but also by systems designed to exploit our emotions, fragment our thinking, and push us toward conflict rather than clarity.

The real danger isn’t just that we’re paying attention to the wrong things -it’s that we’re being fed the wrong things, by design. Corporate platforms and political institutions thrive off outrage because it’s profitable. They frame chaos as conversation and polarization as entertainment. Instead of informing us, they inflame us. Instead of moving us toward action, they trap us in endless reaction.

This is why it’s essential to keep reading, keep learning, and keep evolving -not just into a socially conscious person, but into a literate one. Literate in media. Literate in systems. Literate in power. Because only when we understand the forces shaping our attention can we begin to reclaim it and demand something better in its place.

Reading media with a critical eye is extremely important. As a journalism and media student, of course, this is a given skill for me to learn, I believe it is important to learn in a world that is constantly changing its rules. Asking: Who benefits from this? Who is being silenced? What am I being led to feel, and why?

“These companies will never restrain themselves. The risks of letting them continue behaving the way they have are greater than the risks of overreacting. They have to be stopped. They have to be stopped by us.”

Johann Hari (2022)

We can’t afford to take content at face value anymore. Not when algorithms are designed to keep us scrolling, not thinking. Not when media companies disguise conflict as conversation and serve us outrage as if it were truth. And not when our political and cultural climate is already flooded with division that people in power are all too eager to exploit.

The recent American Eagle x Sydney Sweeney jeans campaign? That isn’t a reach, its natural to question, especially in our current political climate.

It’s not enough to ‘unplug’ or scroll less. That’s important, yes, but a bigger issue is present. It’s about questioning who benefits from the noise, who profits from our division, and how we start demanding more. Accountability, more responsibility, and more substance.

Books like Stolen Focus are necessary. Hari reminds us that what we’re experiencing isn’t a personal failure of willpower or attention, but the result of carefully engineered systems. Systems that profit from our distraction, division, and exhaustion.

Hari gives us the language to name the problem, the framework to understand it, and the urgency to fight back. Because when you’re aware of how your focus is being stolen, you can start to reclaim it and use it intentionally.

Citations

Graziano, Giada. “Study, Study, Study – Miuccia Prada’s Advice for Those Who Want to Work in Fashion – GLAM OBSERVER.” GLAM OBSERVER, 25 Sept. 2020, glamobserver.com/study-study-study-miuccia-pradas-advice-for-those-who-want-to-work-in-fashion/.

Guzman, Chad de. ““Memeification of Politics”: What to Know about Jubilee Media’s Viral Debate Show Surrounded.” TIME, Time, 22 July 2025, time.com/7304339/jubilee-media-surrounded-viral-debate-show-criticisms-mehdi-hasan-fascist/.

Minh Do. X (Formerly Twitter), 20 July 2025, x.com/minhsmind/status/1947062098921468146.

Hari, J. “Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention.” Apple Books, 2022 ISBN-10: 0593138511.