The incentive to lie

A person can have enormous authority because he is popular, credentialed, wealthy, or repeatedly featured by platforms, while having relatively weak incentives to tell you what is actually true. An independent person has no particular reason to tell you that you need an iPhone, a Mac, Google Drive, a subscription, or the newest version of something. That's the difference between authority and independence. Popularity is often mistaken for evidence. Popular figures monetize their audience. Their recommendations are frequently disguised marketing, or the need to maintain favorable relationships with large corporations. Not expertise or truth. 2 million followers did not independently discovered that this popular person knows what he's talking about. It means that 2 millions people found this person's content interesting enough to continue consuming it. The attention economy rewards conformity to corporate interests, not raw truth. Algorithms amplify engagement, not facts. The best…