Dave Pell took a story about Ben Affleck, his marriage, and drinking and turned it into a treatise on how the media screws up stories. You should read his assessment of the Affleck kerfuffle, but more importantly, why his explanation and description of the reports fall right in line with the dumbest shit, the media did and does with Trump.

Why would I waste this space on a salacious Hollywood story? Because this is the exact same pattern we’ve seen play out on much more important stories from the beginning of the Trump era through the present. A false statement gets made. The headlines feature that false statement. That statement spreads. Social media chimes in. The false statement is challenged. And the headlines change to account for that challenge. But the focus of the story, and the social media discussion around it, is still on the initial falsehood.

Clickbait headlines are only there for clicks. The real story is immaterial.

I want to be informed and pay attention to what is going on and ignore fake news and clickbait on the internet. Still, it is becoming increasingly impossible to vet reliable sources.

I think I’m going to start really culling my information intake. Wish me luck.