The problem is that we've gotten so far from the middle that it's going to take a generation to wrangle it (reasonable intellectual debate) back. If you're giving equal opportunity to both sides, you'll need time for lengthy debates to resolve in an acceptably neutral manner.

The "truth" used to be within arm's reach. Reasonable discussion could be had from either side of an issue. Today, you've got two parties (regardless of politics) who appear to maybe be commenting on the same topic but it's like they're on different planets now. Few people, including you and I right this moment, take enough time to engage in the original conversation and instead inject their narrative into something unrelated.

The internet has allowed everyone with an opinion to barf it all over the place while their lemmings lick it up and regurgitate the same cold greasy pizza. This (literally, this comment) distracts from the topic at hand and diverts people to engage in things that infrequently mean anything at all.

This really comes down to responsible journalism. It seems to me that responsible journalism, and "equal time for both sides", can't proliferate in a world driven by hits of dopamine on social media. What schools should be teaching is how to avoid addiction, how to strengthen your attention span, how to find the time and the value in reading long form articles, and how to deeply decipher propaganda.

Edit: in related news… “ Americans flock to TikTok for news ” https://www.axios.com/2023/11/15/tiktok-social-media-news-source-us-data

The share of TikTok users who consume news through the platform has nearly doubled since 2020, according to new Pew Research Center data.

Why it matters: News organizations, business leaders and brands are being forced to evolve and meet audiences where they are in order to break through.

What's happening: The Pew study shows that news consumers have accelerated their shift toward digital channels in the past year.

Americans are roughly twice as likely to say they prefer getting news on digital devices (58%) than television (27%). Meanwhile, audience preference for radio and print media remains roughly stagnant at 6% and 5% respectively.

State of play: Roughly half of Americans say they get some news from social media platforms.

News audiences are increasing the most on TikTok and Instagram. Platforms like LinkedIn, Twitch and Nextdoor are also gaining traction as news sources.