Because it’s pushed to the top of algo-driven newsfeeds, and originates with people with blue checkmarks after their names
They are making a £ v moral decision.
Twitter et al. apparently us the blue checkmark to indicate they have vetted the identity of that social media account, and they vouch for @ev[0] being Mr Williams while @finkd may or may not be Mr Zuckerberg.[1]
At least on Twitter, it has a "first-prize ribbon" look to it, as if being the blue-checked Mr Williams were an achievement superior to that of the second (red) Mr Williams and the others on down.[2]
[1]: https://twitter.com/finkd
[2]: http://www.trophies2go.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/RBB...
Not anymore - now it means Twitter endorses what they say. I mean does someone stop being themselves once they break the ToS? If not, why withdraw it?
My intuition says yes but to such a minor extent that it cannot explain away the phenomenon.
Trying to fix it with critical thinking is difficult because it's a few steps back in the causal chain for agency. People have to want to question their news sources, but that increasingly conflicts with their need to feel part of a group when they're getting their news via gossip.