Because of the nature of content algorithms, this is a feature of the world we live in now. As long as these algorithms exist, bad actors will use them to move the debate to extremes.

/3

The “War on Pineapple” explains how foreign actors use harmless debates (pineapple on pizza) to spark outrage, build fake accounts, amplify extremes, push narratives into mainstream media, and turn online division into real-world conflict.

www.cisa.gov/sites/defaul...

/2

Some incredible details in this piece
*one DOGE faction was planning the future of the US government at a venture capital firm
*illegally communicating on Signal to avoid transparency laws was deeply embedded into organizational culture to be taken for granted

I wouldn't say they help or harm kids anymore they help or harm adults. They're tools and can be used poorly or well

That seems to fall in line with metrics that are school administrator centric, test scores and student discipline. Not that these aren't important, but not "mental health"

No one is proposing schools curtail their own use of algorithmic social media to communicate to their communities. School districts aren't for regulation of algorithms.

If this wasn't just about controlling students, they would.

/5

For every national think piece the conflates evidencen with narrative, there is a local piece capturing the reaction (and motivation) of adults.

It turns out to be about control, not protecting kids.

yelmonline.com/stories/teac...

/4

"It actually puts kids in more danger by pretending that if we just “ban” places for them to communicate, that they’ll just become perfect little kids who never look elsewhere."

/3

"It should be teaching kids how to navigate these spaces appropriately—how to recognize manipulation, how to minimize risks, what to do when something goes wrong. Instead, we hide it."

/2