(2018-02-04) Tackling The Internets Central Villain The Advertising Business

Tackling the Internet’s Central Villain: The Advertising Business. There’s a lot of dark stuff. In one corner, you have the Russian campaign to influence the 2016 presidential election with digital propaganda. In another, a rash of repugnant videos on YouTube, with children being mock-abused, cartoon characters bizarrely committing suicide on the kids’ channel, and a popular vlogger recording a body hanging from a tree.

So who is the central villain in this story, the driving force behind much of the chaos and disrepute online?

the force to blame has been quietly shaping the contours of life online since just about the beginning of life online: It’s the advertising business.