In this latest edition of "Behind The Headlines", Lee Camp sat down with Mike Papantonio. Papantonio is one of the most successful lawyers in the U.S., and has built up a reputation for holding corporate America accountable. He has also hosted successful TV and radio shows, such as " Ring of Fire." In this interview, the two discuss the power and influence of social media.
Papantonio's work has shown that social media is far more nefarious than most of us believe. "The empirical data is very clear. What's happening right now is that Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp and all of them have figured out the formula for making a kid stay on their network for as long as possible," he said. "The studies that these tech companies did were to figure out how to make that kid feel that they aren't good enough. How do you make them feel like they don't [shape] up with their peers? How do you make them feel like they need acceptance all the time - and if they don't have acceptance, they're just not normal?" he added.
The effect of this is equally clear. As Papantonio notes, there has been a wave of childhood depression and suicides directly attributable to the toxic messaging children across the world are internalizing. This leads Papantonio to compare social media addiction to that of cigarettes or opium. He is currently in the process of a class action-style lawsuit against big tech corporations.
The pair also discuss another alarming trend in social media (and one that we at MintPress News have been covering in-depth): the astonishing closeness between the deep state and Silicon Valley. Talking with Camp, Papantonio lays out the quid-pro-quo between big tech and big government. Washington has agreed to look the other way as these giant online platforms surveil their users, illegally store their data and use it to make billions in the process. In return, big tech companies have allowed hundreds of deep state officials to come in and take up influential posts within their organizations - positions that allow Washington to dictate what the world sees (and doesn't see) in its social media feed. Consequently, this gives the U.S. incredible power over the means of communication globally.
Besides the financial incentives, why are big tech companies going along with this? Papantonio explains:
They do it to protect themselves; they feel like 'if we can load up with ex-FBI and CIA agents, they are not going to come after us, because we can flex our muscle and say 'listen, we have three spooks working here. Are you sure you want to come after us?"
Watch the full interview only at MintPress News.
Lee Camp is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor and activist. Camp is the host of Behind The Headlines' new series: The Most Censored News With Lee Camp. He is a former comedy writer for the Onion and the Huffington Post and has been a touring stand-up comic for 20 years.