Going Viral

Long Shadow

Long Lead & PRX

Technology, Politics, Guns, Internet, Anniversary, 9-11, Terrorism, America, Narrative, History

4.8 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 29 July 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

After the twin disasters of the massacre in Myanmar and the 2016 election, social media undergoes a reckoning in the halls of Congress… until a novel virus uncorks a global pandemic and a contagion of hoaxes, conspiracies, and lies online.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is long lead.
0:04.5	Hey everyone, it's me, Garrett.
0:08.0	Just want to give you a heads up that this episode contains quite a bit of harsh language.
0:12.0	That might not be for everyone, so take care when listening.
0:16.0	Like, for instance, right now.
0:19.0	I want the fucking money.
0:23.6	I will play the goddamn game and I'll win.
0:25.9	Because I want the money.
0:29.2	Because I want to extend my influence.
0:30.2	Do you know what I'm saying?
0:30.7	Yeah.
0:31.4	It's fine.
0:33.6	He wants the money.
0:37.1	It's November 10th, 2017. Chamath Palah Hopatia, a tech billionaire and former Facebook executive, is giving a Q&A at Stanford's
0:44.3	Graduate School of Business.
0:45.3	It's one of those extremely frank talks that seems destined to go viral.
0:50.3	Consumer Internet businesses are about exploiting psychology.
0:54.9	We want to psychologically figure out how to manipulate you as fast as possible and then give you back that dopamine hit.
1:01.2	We did that brilliantly at Facebook.
1:03.8	Instagram has done it.
1:04.7	WhatsApp has done it.
1:06.0	You don't realize it, but you are being programmed.
	...

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