The New Snake Oil: Outrage and Validation in the Digital World

 Social Media, So-called News, Bots, Algorithms, and digital snake-oil salesmen—this episode of An Ounce exposes how misinformation spreads, why outrage sells, and how your clicks keep it alive. Bots aren’t the villains—they’re the tools. The real players are the agenda-drivers who profit when we stop thinking. In this episode, Jim Fugate pulls back the curtain on the modern confidence game: how a single bot whisper becomes a viral foghorn of fake urgency. You’ll learn how emotional bait hooks us, how algorithms reward fear and anger, and how to spot digital “bull snot” before you share it. It’s witty, a little dark, and all too true. So grab a dose of skepticism—and a laugh—because the cure starts with awareness. 👍 Remember: verify before you amplify. Subscribe for weekly stories that prove truth can be stranger (and funnier) than fiction. Watch next:  Historical Facts? Myth vs Truth   https://youtu.be/GDqhQF3nHgc Discovering The Truth Behind Famous Historical Myths  https://youtu.be/JpHTMQV-XPQ #AnOunce #Misinformation #SocialMedia #Bots #CriticalThinking #DigitalAge ________________________________________ 📚 References • Facebook Transparency Reports (2024) – estimated 3–5 % fake accounts. • Pew Research Center (2020) – two-thirds of shared links from automated accounts. • Carnegie Mellon University (2020) – bot activity analysis during major events. • Independent analyses of Twitter/X bot prevalence (2017–2023). ________________________________________ 🕒 Chapters / Timestamps (estimated for YouTube) 00:00 Hook – The Digital Con 00:40 Meet the New Con Men 01:18 The Psychology of the Hook 02:11 The Recycling Plant of Lies 02:58 The Agenda Factory 04:33 The Scale of the Scam 06:20 How They Recruit the “Useful Idiot” 06:54 The Real-World Damage 08:38 Quick-Spotting Guide to Bull Snot 09:45 The Laughable Cure & Closing Reflection 10:22 An Ounce ________________________________________ Credits: Visual: An Ounce Studio, iStock, Getty Audio: Music This is Not IDM and This is not a Ballad by True Cukoo via YouTube  10 second pre-roll promo for An Ounce Podcast on YouTube