The Secret Marketing Tactic Killing The Internet

The Secret Marketing Tactic Killing The Internet

From ICYMI by Slate Podcasts

May 27, 2026 · 26 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the 'clipping economy' and its impact on the authenticity of online content.

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by New York Magazine features writer Lane Brown whose latest piece breaks down the “clipping economy,” which has become the backbone of the entire internet. Cheaper than traditional advertising, people and companies employ bots and users to generate fake hype for everything from music to TV shows to SNL performances. The internet has become so saturated with this content that now almost everyone has to do it to compete. But if you take away clipping, does any real internet remain? And if everything is marketing, is anything online real? This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay. Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Kate Lindsay

Guest: Lane Brown

Topics covered

  • marketing
  • internet
  • clipping economy
  • advertising
  • fake hype
  • media saturation

Keywords

  • clipping economy
  • internet marketing
  • fake hype
  • advertising
  • media saturation
  • New York Magazine

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: New York Magazine, Slate Podcasts

More episodes of ICYMI

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the ICYMI podcast page.