Is Social Media Hype Even Real?

Is Social Media Hype Even Real?

From What A Day by What A Day

June 1, 2026 · 22 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the artificial hype in social media and its implications on public perception, featuring guest Lane Brown.

It’s no secret that what we see on social media is highly choreographed. But a recent article in New York Magazine by Lane Brown confirms it by uncovering the world of artificial hype that drives what we perceive as buzz. The piece dominated the groupchats these last few days, and for good reason: it taps into a general unease about how we’ve ceded our reality to platforms that are manipulated by shadowy ad campaigns. Brown joins the show to lay it all out for us. And in headlines, Trump’s “walk back weekend,” protestors clash with police outside a New Jersey ICE detention center, and voting begins in the the Colombian presidential election. Show Notes: The Feed Is Fake, by Lane Brown – https://www.vulture.com/article/social-media-feeds-chaotic-good-projects-clipping.html Call Congress – 202-224-3121 Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/y4y2e9jy What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

People in this episode

Host: What A Day

Guest: Lane Brown

Topics covered

  • social media
  • artificial hype
  • advertising
  • politics
  • current events
  • public perception

Keywords

  • social media hype
  • advertising manipulation
  • public perception
  • Trump
  • Colombian election
  • New Jersey protests

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: New York Magazine, Crooked Media

Places: New Jersey

More episodes of What A Day

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the What A Day podcast page.