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The Trigger Chain

Photo: Rob Hyrons / Shutterstock.com
Photo: Rob Hyrons / Shutterstock.com (Shutterstock)

You’ve seen it before. Divisive or upsetting content makes its way onto social media. It triggers an emotional response from people who see it, who respond with their own vitriolic posts. The reaction continues as these posts trigger additional people who add their own responses to the chain. In the end, you have cascading threads of outrage, with people responding to content that’s completely divorced from the original event.

Illustration: Tobias Rose-Stockwell
Illustration: Tobias Rose-Stockwell