algorithm

Social media and photo editing are giving teens unrealistic beauty expectations for themselves, causing them to turn to plastic surgery. Here’s why that needs to change. Plus, former Facebook product manager-turned-whistleblower Frances Haugen explains how Facebook’s algorithm stokes anger and division, and discusses the social media giant’s impact on teen mental health.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified before Congress on Thursday and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressed concerns about the platform’s privacy practices and its relationship to the Communist Chinese government. We speak to Heritage Tech expert Kara Frederick.

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This week, Jon is joined by the internet’s dad, Hank Green. For many people, Hank is a staple of the internet, whether on TikTok, YouTube, or in the classroom. He sat down with Jon to discuss how he attempts to inspire curiosity online, the communities he’s built, and how the internet has changed since he posted his first video in 2007.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

It’s been four years since the 2016 election laid bare the powerful role that social media companies have come to play in shaping political discourse and beliefs in America.

Since then, there have been growing calls to address the spread of polarization and misinformation promoted on such platforms.

While Facebook has been slower to acknowledge a need for change, Twitter has embraced the challenge, acknowledging that the company made mistakes in the past. But with three months to go until the 2020 election, these changes have been incremental, and Twitter itself is more popular than ever.

Today, Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s C.E.O., discusses the platform’s flaws, its polarizing potential — and his vision for the future.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily

Background reading:

• A 17-year-old in Florida was recently responsible for one of the worst hacking attacks in Twitter’s history — successfully breaching the accounts of some of the world’s most famous people, including Barack Obama, Kanye West and Elon Musk. But did the teenager do the country a favor?
• Twitter is in hot water with the government for sharing with advertisers phone numbers given to the company for personal security purposes