Recently, I was drawn to a LinkedIn post from Sal Naseem, one of my network’s most valued connections. In a moment when far-right ideas are gaining ground across much of the media landscape, and racism is becoming increasingly normalised within sociopolitical discourse, Sal’s daily dose of critical thinking, offered with his familiar message of empathic “Love & Light”, feels especially important.

So why was Sal “troubled” today — beyond what, sadly, may now feel like the usual state of things?

Sal was concerned — as I often am — about seeing “two parallel universes” play out in his LinkedIn feed, this time in discussions about the recent death of Prof. Jason Ardy. As usual, he was searching for ways to address the increasingly adversarial exchanges that now dominate many public platforms. Like me, he wanted to understand “how we fight to regain some of that empathy and compassion that’s been decayed…” in recent years, particularly, though not only, since George Floyd’s death and the rise in prominence of the BLM movement. The simple reality is that we probably can’t — though I will come back to that shortly.

Sal was right: meaningful critical thinking and empathetic public discourse are close to disappearing. In my view — and in the view of many far more knowledgeable than I am — meaningful discussion and the open exchange of opinion have been swallowed by a turbulent sea of “enshittification[1]”. The steady flow of toxicity from far-right online spaces now runs through much of our social-media ecosystem, amplified by algorithms built to reward anger and division. It is the commodification of emotion and the monetisation of comment, whether valid or not, all designed to serve corporate and individual greed. That may sound like a conspiracy theory, but it is increasingly the reality we live with today.

I found some of the responses to Sal’s post interesting, particularly the recurring sentiment of “suck it up; it is what it is”. In fairness, that is often a mantra I accept myself. You cannot always fix the system or change other people’s opinions, especially when those things sit far beyond your direct control. Push too hard, and you risk damaging your own wellbeing by repeatedly banging your head against the same wall.

However, I did strongly identify with one comment: “LinkedIn feels very artificial these days, it’s lost its vibrancy of connection and conversation” (Farrah A). But was that ever truly the case? I would argue probably not — at least not in the sense of open, honest and meaningful conversation between people, which is usually richer in person because it carries nuance and non-verbal cues. In reality, the problem was never simply a loss of genuine engagement; LinkedIn has always leaned more towards self-promotion and revenue generation. It was built for business networking and making money, not social discourse. Commerce and financial growth have always been its real drivers.

LinkedIn (launched in 2003): American business and employment-oriented social networking service used globally. The platform is primarily used for professional networking and career development. As of 2026, LinkedIn has more than 1 billion registered members from over 200 countries and territories. (Wikipedia.org)

LinkedIn has always sold itself as the polished face of professional networking, but the gloss has never hidden the contradiction. For every claim that it is the “de facto” tool for building careers and connections, there is an equally valid critique of the platform’s self-congratulatory culture, performative engagement and relentless commercial logic. Yes, business strategists praise it as a place to build relationships, authority and revenue. That is precisely the point: LinkedIn is not a public square. It is a marketplace dressed up as community.

Strip away the branding and LinkedIn remains what it has always been: a platform built around the pursuit of money, largely through an American model of visibility, influence and commercial gain. That will not change, because it was never designed to change. If anything, algorithmic manipulation has made the problem worse, pushing the platform further into the same cycle of “enshittification” affecting so much of online life. Once you accept that, you can at least decide how to use it: work within the system, resist it where you can, or stop pretending it was ever something purer.

For those of us who have spent years navigating the Internet’s own toxic overflow — from the crackle of dial-up BBS forums to the restless machinery of modern social media — the origins of today’s digital malaise are not difficult to trace.

Which brings me to David Pakman’s forthcoming Pay Attention: How the Algorithms and Media Wars Are Suppressing Truth and Rewiring Your Brain[2]. Pakman, the American podcaster, YouTuber and progressive commentator behind the New York Times and USA Today bestseller The Echo Machine: How Right-Wing Extremism Created a Post-Truth America[3], has spent years examining the toxic machinery of far-right media and its corrosive influence on democratic debate. His work sits squarely in the fight against the engineered chaos that now “floods the zone” and distorts public understanding. It should be a timely read — though, as ever, I digress. Now back to Sal’s post.

Because of my ethnicity, and the “white privilege” that society attaches to it from birth, I know there are limits to how fully I can empathise with the pain currently felt by people of Sal’s ethnicity. I do not experience that pain myself, but I can understand the anger and anxiety behind it. If that feels difficult to grasp, it may be worth examining your own relationship with “white privilege” — assuming, of course, that you understand what the term really means. If not, let me try to explain.

To begin with, white privilege is probably not what many people think it is. In the interests of clarity, a 2025 viral TikTok video, viewed around 9.6 million times, might have offered a simple explanation of the concept. But in Britain, as elsewhere, understanding what “white privilege” means — and why the term matters — remains important, even as it continues to be contested. For example, former Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf argued in 2025 that telling disadvantaged young white men they possess “privilege” can be counterproductive, particularly in communities where alienation and resentment can help fuel extreme violence.

Perhaps one of the best-known UK “explainers”, that provides a deeper understanding of the concept, rather than the debate around it, was “Check Your Privilege”[4], which was covered at the time and in more detail by The Standard and The Independent. It used a “put a finger down” format: people put down a finger for experiences such as being stopped by police and fearing for their safety because of their race. The comparison was designed to demonstrate how experiences can differ according to race. And, whether we agree or not, whether we like it or not, many people experience a different life, simply because of what they might be wearing, or probably even more often, due to the melanin levels in their skin.

Dress all that as you might but it’s nothing less than racism, pure and simple. This is an abhorrent and sadly growing feature within our society, which needs to be stopped. Because there are people (other humans) who live in our communities that are fearful for their safety, and for the safety of their families. People who are vilified, people who have been verbally abused and even more worryingly, are also now becoming the targets for physical violence. And ‘we’ call ‘others’ the uneducated savages, really?

FFS give your head a wobble, and start reading beyond the contrived narratives in your social-media feed people. Don’t allow Alogrythmic Empowered Racism to fuel your opinions!

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[1] Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What To Do About It. Doctorow C (2022) https://link.amazon/B08LMoxu1

[2] Pay Attention: How the Algorithms and Media Wars Are Suppressing Truth and Rewiring Your Brain. Pakman D (2026) https://link.amazon/B04ox0XdV

[3] The Echo Machine: How Right-Wing Extremism Created a Post-Truth America. Pakman D (2025) https://link.amazon/B0cnYR3rP

[4] Check Your Privilege, The Standard, June 2022 https://www.standard.co.uk/news/tech/tiktok-check-your-privilege-challenge-explained-a4461351.html